The Element of Emerald
by M0b1uz
Summary: Two Worlds. Too groups of heroes. One rebuilding from a century-long war; the other cut off from their home. Their enemies united against them. The only way to prevail...IS TOGETHER!
1. The Meteor

_**Previously, on Avatar...**_

 _"No... I'm not gonna end it like this", Aang stated firmly, facing opposite of his opponent._

 _Phoenix King Ozai pushed himself up."Even with all the power in the world, your still weak." he lunged to attack._

 _*FLASH*_

 _The pillar of blue light brightened the sky, then dimmed._

 _"What...what did you do to me?" Ozai asked, confused._

 _The Avatar regained his posture."I took away your firebending. You can't use it to hurt anyone else anymore."_

 _*FLASH*_

 _The three nations raised their flags, and cheerd for the new firelord._

 _Zuko raise one hand."Please. The real hero...is the Avatar." he gestured to the young air nomad behind him._

 _The crowd cheered louder at the site of the Avatar._

 _*FLASH*_

 _"I promised my uncle I'd restore the honor of the Fire Nation...and I will," Zuko began," One hundred years of war have left the world scared and divided, but I believe, with enough hard work, we can restore the Fire Nation's honor, and Finally acheive peace once more."_

 _Zuko kneeled down. The fire sage raised the royal headpiece for all to see."All hail Fire Lord Zuko!" he announced, placing the piece into Zuko's topknot._

 _*FLASH*_

 _Thay were all back in Ba Sing Se at the Jasmine Dragon, with Iroh playing the sungi horn and Zuko serving tea to the rest of them._

 _*FLASH*_

 _Aang and Katara stood on the balcony, enjoying the view. They hugged, looked deeply into eachother's eyes, then kissed._

 _*FLASH*_

* * *

 **Book Four:**

 **Metal**

 **Chapter One:**

 **The Meteor**

* * *

The stars and heavens hung all around them. The earth's horizon lay beneath them.

The two Avatars in astral-form sat cross-legged facing eachother on seemingly nothing. Avatar Aang was briefly recaping to his predicessor, Avatar Roku, a summary of recent events, with Roku depending upon his years of experience pertaining to quick and decisive actions to mentally keep up with his successor's endless jabber, responding with a subtle _mhm_ or _and?_ between the boy's pauses to let him know he was still awake _."...and then Zuko left to go to the bathroom...and then me and Sokka snuck into the royal supply room...and took some of the special powder...and then we snuck back into the throne room...then we lined the powder around the throne...then I used firebending to light up the powder just before Zuko could walk in through the back...you should've seen the look on his face when the whole room glowed pink! I mean, he just stood there, right behind these huge pink flames!...then we both bowed down and chanted 'All hail Fire Lady ZuZu!' "_ , the two Avatars laughed joyfully.

 _"_ _How splendid!_ _"_ the old Avatar applauded, _"_ _Such an eventful Autumn it's been for you! It brings so much joy to my heart to see my past friendship with the firelord reborn._ _"_

 _"Yeah...heh...can't wait for it to end...er-Autumn, I mean"_ , the new Avatar mumbled a little more to himself.

Roku looked puzzled, _"_ _What do you mean?_ _"_

Aang stayed quiet.

Roku read his saddened expression. _"_ _Ah, I see_ _"_ , he began, _"_ _Autumn is the season of Air_ _"_ he said aloud _._

The young Avatar blinked his tears away. _"It's just...I'm the only person who truly knows what I'm going through: I'm the only one left on Earth who can bend air, who's seen and experienced first hand their peaceful, nomadic culture; I'm the only one who knows how to resew a torn air staff, how to train a flying lemur to fetch your marbles when you lose them, how tell the difference between a stratus cloud and a cirrus cloud, how to make musrooms go good with kiwi. And combined with being the Avatar? I mean, how am I supposed to sleep at night knowing when I'm gone, there will be no other trace of evidence that airbenders even existed?"_ the young Air Nomad could hold back his tears no longer.

 _"_ _I understand_ _"_ , the old Fire Nation noble tried to comfort him, _"_ _but by now you must realize there are plenty of individuals like you who have a mutual perspective of your condition. You're speaking to one of them right now_ _"_ , he said with a smile.

 _"But, you're Fire Nation"_ , Aang reminded him.

 _"_ _Yes, but I am also Earth Kingdom. And Water Tribe as well. You forget that I, like you, have embraced the cultures and customs of all of the four nations, each becoming just as much a part of who I am as the other three. So when I witnessed from the afterlife the destruction of the Air Nomads, I was very sad, as were the Avatars before me. I, however, was futher saddened, for it was the second genocide that I myself had witnessed._ _"_

 _"'Second genocide'?"_ Aang repeated.

 _"_ _The moment Firelord Sozin refused to help me up during the volcano eruption, and flew away on his dragon, I realized that I too was the last of my kind. The Fire Nation that I was born in had withered away, and in it's place, a new nation arose. A nation that corrupted the true meaning of honor and firebending, and sought for nothing less than to be the most powerful and feared of the three remaining factions._ _"_

The new Avatar suddenly felt less self-centered. _"Wow...I never thought of it like that"_ , he said, with a deeper sense of respect for his predicessor.

 _"_ _But, that is in the past now_ _"_ , Roku lamented, brightening up, _"_ _For just as the people of the Fire Nation are doing everything to restore their country's honor, you may one day find yourself surrounded by eager, young airbenders, seeking to learn their ancestor's traditions from the only one who can teach them._ _"_

The succeeding Avatar was successfully cheered up. _"Huh...I guess I'm not so alone after all..."_

 _"_ _You aren't. Although, I was never particularly good with mushroom and kiwi pie..._ _"_

They laughed some more. They stopped, however, as they noticed the space around them seem to vibrate.

 _"What's happening?"_ , Aang asked, hoping for an answer from the previous Avatar.

 _"_ _I'm not sure_ _"_ , he answered, _"Space itself_ _is being pushed aside, as if to make room..._ _"_

 _"Room? For what?"_

The two Avatars were engulfed in a flash of white, a large round silhouette taking shape opposite of the earth. The white vanished, revealing a massive stone object with an enormous point sticking out the front of it.

 _"What is it?"_ Aang asked, still thinking Roku might know.

 _"_ _I have no idea. It appears to be a vessel of some sort._ _"_

 _"Well, we are in astral form. Maybe we could just faze inside and see what it is?"_ the young airbender suggested.

Roku shook his head. _"_ _That would not be wise. It is completly new to the universe. We have no choice but to assume the worst. Aang, you must return to your body so that you may resume your duties. Prepare for anything, for whatever this entity is, it may very well be here to upsurp the balance of the world, or even balance itself._ _"_

Avatar Roku disappeared, leaving Aang alone in space.

Aang held out his hand. _"Wait, Roku! Don't go! I don't know what to prepare for. How would I even get to it before something happens? Roku!"_

An ominous blue light caught Aang's attention. He turned towards the stone object to see a blue, glowing orb barreling straight for him.

 _"Aaaaaaaagghh!"_

* * *

"Aang! Aang, wake up!" Katara tried, rocking back and forth the sleeping Avatar.

With a scream, the awakened Aang forced a blast of air upwards, blowing a hole through the roof.

Realizing that he was no longer in the Spirit World, Aang looked up at Katara, Toph, and Sokka and their new "hairdoos", a side effect of his impulsive move.

"Sheesh", Toph remarked,"Don't take it out on the ceiling just because you had a bad dream."

Aang sat up."It wasn't a bad dream", he said,"it was a vision. I was talking to Roku, and there was this big flash, and then this giant, round, pointy thing came out of nowhere. Then Roku was gone, and then a meteor..."

"Woah, calm down. Wait, how can something be round _and_ pointy? That dosen't make any sense", Sokka wondered out loud.

Aang caught his bearings."Um...nevermind, it was probably just a bad dream", his said shrugging.

"Nice to know that problem was solved fast", Sokka said, giving his little airbending buddy a pat on the shoulder,"Now hurry up and get dressed, we're gonna be late!"

"Just a second. I'll be ready...", the young nomad affirmed, putting his pants on

To forward international harmony, the Avatar, Fire Lord, and their friends have motioned a _World Peace Tour_ , visiting several towns and villages across the world to promote peace and love among the three nations. Also participating in the tour were Sokka, Katara, Bato, and Cheif Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe; Cheif Arnook of the Northern Water Tribe; Suki of Kyoshi Island; Lao, Poppy, and Toph Bei Fong of Gaoling; and Mai and Tylee of the Fire Nation (for unknown reasons, Mai and Tylee have decided to participate without their parents or siblings).

Right now, the group were at Makapu Village, the last destination on the list. For the occasion, a large festival has been arranged to commemorate the young men and women (and lemurs) who fought to end The War.

* * *

In another room, Fire Lord Zuko was teetering back and forth on whether he should or shouldn't attend the festival while wearing his royal headpiece."...but if I wear it, people might be wigged out when they see me...but they really shouldn't because The War's over...but I don't wanna make people think it's not over...but how will everyone know the I'm Fire Lord?...but I don't wanna oppresively display my royal heritage...but I should be able to wear it if I want...but I should learn to compromise so I don't seem so obtuse about it...but there are also two sides to compromise in which-" right in the middle of the young monarch's dilemma, Mai silently plucked the headpiece out of his hand and tossed it out the window.

Zuko appeared surprised at his girlfriend's lack of respect for royal heirlooms, but shrugged."Casual Zuko it is."

* * *

Outside the inn, Suki, in her formal Kyoshi Warrior armor, was leaning her back against the wall, her arms crossed, right when her boyfriend popped out the entrance to her left.

"So, is Aang alright?" she asked.

"He's fine, just napping", Sokka confirmed,"Ooh, I just can't wait for Aang's speech! It's gonna be so awsome! I wish the Moon would go faster!" he eagerly cried, attempting to will the Moon to increase it's usual rate of travel with his eyes.

Suki figured the young Water Tribe warrior would be elated this particular evening, but she may have underestimated the amount of energy with which he would use to display it.

When the Moon was to reach the center of the night sky, the villagers attending the festival were to be directed to a special stage, where the Avatar was schedueled to give a long speech about peace, a speech pain-stakenly pre-written by Sokka himself.

"This entire village is going to hear what _I_ wrote! What _I_ wrote!" he excitedly repeated to himself.

"Yeah, and afterwards, I hear there's going to be a special suprise", Suki announced, in an attempt to change the subject.

"What kinda' suprise?" Sokka asked, before silently chanting _"What I wrote"_ to himself one more time.

"Well, it turns out that Makapu Village is home to a famous fortune teller named Aunt Wu", Sokka's ears perked up at the familar name,"I heard from one of the stage builders that she's going to give a surprise prediction after Aang's peace speech!" Sokka's jaw hung low at her news.

"No, NO! Why does _she_ have to be there!?" he whaled, almost teary-eyed.

Suki caught this."Wait, you mean you've actually met Aunt Wu before?"

"Yes, I have!" Sokka ranted,"We stopped here once for supplies just in time for her to 'predict' to the whole village that the volcano wouldn't erupt, and it did! If it wasn't for Aang, the village would of been destroyed!" he explained.

"Technicaly, she said the volcano wouldn't destroy the village, which it didn't", Suki replied, raising a finger.

"Who told you that!?" Sokka demanded.

She shrugged."Some old guy with a blue hat."

Sokka's eyelids lowered. At least he was hearing it from his girlfriend and not the man himself.

"Do you have something against fortune tellers?" Suki inquired.

"Who me? of course not", Sokka responded calmly,"Except for the fact that THEY DON'T EXIST! You can't see into the future, it's impossible!"

"I don't know, Sokka. These people don't seem to have any doubts about her. Maybe she really is spiritual?" Suki proposed.

"Please", Sokka critisized,"Aang didn't feel anything strange about her, and he's supposed to the bridge to the Spirit _World_."

"Well, maybe she's just so smart she that actually _remembers_ future events", the Kyoshi Warrior tried again.

"You can't just remember things that haven't happened yet. Memories don't work that way", the Water Tribe Warrior persisted.

Katara poked her head out of the entrance."Sokka, you aren't still trying to convince people that Aunt Wu is fake, are you?" she inquired.

Sokka raised a hand to his little sister."Not now, Katara. My point is that time isn't something you bend like water or earth, it's a...you know...a concept."

Suki finally gave up."Alright, Sokka, whatever you say..."

"Good", Sokka relented,"Now, I hope Aang's ready, Katara, because we're running out of time as it is. It's going to be an hour and a half to midnight soon and I don't want him to be late for his speech."

"Now hang on..." Katara smirked," Did you just say we were 'running out of time'? I thought time was just a concept", the young waterbender retorted, causing her brother to deadpan.

"She has a point, Sokka. You can't really run out of a concept", Aang added, peeping out of the doorway as well.

"I'll take that as a _yes_ ", Sokka grumbled.

* * *

The tour members were riding to the festival in their own carriages, each carriage towed by their nations home riding animal. The children rode in Zuko's carriage (pulled by komodo rhinos with dulled horns), save for Toph, who was forced to reside with her parents (in a carriage pulled by ostrich horses).

"Are you sure you memorized the speech?" Sokka asked the young Avatar.

"Yes", Aang confirmed.

"Double-memorized it?"

"Yes."

"What about while eating breakfest?"

"Yes."

"In the bathroom?"

"Yes."

"Eyes squinted?"

"Yes."

"Upsidedown?"

"Will you relax, Sokka!?" Katara chimed in,"Even if Aang might not be able to completely recite every single word of your speech on the spot, he can still just put the paper on the podium when he does say it. Besides, can't you see he's thinking about something different?"

"What could he possibly be thinking about on one of the most important nights of his life!?"

"About my vision", Aang anwsered him.

"Vision?" Sokka repeated,"I thought you said you were just having a nightmare!"

Aang looked away."I kind of just said that to make you guys feel better."

"WELL I DEFINITELY DON"T FEEL BETTER NOW!"

"So that's why you look so upset", Zuko calculated. The young Air Nomad did appear very disturbed, constantly looking down, not speaking. It made sense to the scarred monarch that he had a revelation of some kind."So what was the vision about? Did it have anything to do with my father? Or my sister? Or anything else about the Fire Nation?"

"Ya' know, Zuko, not everything has to revolve around _you_..." Sokka rebuked, earning stares from the rest of the group.

"Not at all, actually", Aang began,"I was telling Roku about the past couple of months, when this giant stone thing materialized before our eyes. It was really scary because not even Roku knew what it was. Then he told me to return to my body in case it was something bad, and then he vanished. And then, I saw a meteor come straight at me, or at least it looked like a meteor. That was when I woke up..."

"...and blew a hole through the roof", Sokka finished insensitively.

"Would you stop talking!? Katara snapped. "What do you think it all means?" Katara asked.

"I don't really know. That stone thing could've been the meteor. What if it's coming for us right now? How would I stop something like that?" Aang asked himself.

"All this stuff about spirits and visions. Honestly, I actually feel like going to help Ty Lee with her braides than listen to more of this", Mai sighed.

"Oh, don't worry: you get used to it", Sokka assured her.

* * *

The tour members stepped out of the carriages and set their eyes toward the festival, which, frankly, was quite impressive for a temporary fair assembled overnight. The fair retained many festivities and attractions from across the nations. Their were all kinds of food stands serving treats of near endless variety. It contained many games for the youth, such as _Dunk the Fire Lord_ , _Hama's Haunted Inn_ , and a variation of _Airball_. The location even boasted a small circus, with _Tylee's Amazing-Flaming-Net-Animal-Stampede-Tight-Rope-Hand-Walk_ as the main event.

"Wow, this place is amazing!" marveled Katara as the gang made their way through the festival, noting the attractions,"I wonder where we should start first?"

"Well, you guys could go play those games'n stuff while me and Aang reherse the speech a few more times", Said Sokka, carrying the scroll containing Aang's World Peace speech in his left hand.

"Um...what was that, Sokka!? I can't hear you over the music!" Aang yelled, holding his hand up to his ear.

"What? I can hear you just fine. There's no music-"

"I think it's coming from over there!" Aang fibbed, pointing a random direction,"I'll go check!" he cried, riding off on an air scooter.

"Aang, wait!...speech!...World Peace!...Moon!" the warrior stuttered.

"Will you calm down, Sokka?" Suki asked,"The Moon isn't even half way there to the sky's center. There's more than enough time for some festival fun, and _then_ the speech. Okay?" Suki explained, comforting Sokka.

The young warrior observed a game or two."I guess the speech can wait..."

"That's the sprit, Sokka!" Zuko beamed, lay his hand on Sokka's shoulder,"Now who's up for a round of _Dunk the Fire Lord?_ "

"Yeah! Let's dunk Zuko! I mean-er-Ozai..." Sokka corrected himself, smiling sheepishly at the current fire lord.

The monarch shrugged."I understand. It's kind of my fault."

* * *

The Gaang did all kinds of fun things: Aang and the gang engaged in a mock game of Airball with some younger kids, with Sokka on the other team to insure the kids a fair game. Zuko spin kick the ball right into Sokka's stomach, sending him flying into the goal. The rest of the gang cheered."You stink!" one of the little kids spewed, throwing the ball at Sokka's face, knocking him down again. they thre darts at targets (Sokka losing), rode a earthbending-powered merry-go-round (Sokka getting visibly nauseated), they went through the haunted house (Sokka tackling a man dressed as an evil spirit in order to save Suki), Cheering at the circus (Sokka having to replace one of the clowns, not knowing he was meant to be a rodeo clown to distract an angry baboon mammoth), and even a round of Dunk the Fire Lord, where a man dressed as Phoenix King Ozai sat on a platform, which gave way beneath him as soon as someone hit the target with a ball, him falling into a tank of water. (Sokka laughed at the poor man, banging the glass in hysteria, only to cause the glass to crack. His friends looked tense, and quickly ran away, before the glass tank burst, the water carrying Sokka and the fake Ozai with him

* * *

After that brief montage of festival fun, the Moon had finally reached it's center in the night sky, and signs were being placed around the area.

"Please follow the directing signs to the designated location where the Avatar will give his _Lecture on World Peace_!" some people announced using metal funnels to amplify there voices, pointing to the signs.

Before long, a crowd gathered before a large stage draped in white, with the respective insignia of the three nations on each side-signifying world unity-and chairs on each side on the stage.

The spotlight shined on a man in a white robe walking out between the enormous white curtains and to the podium in the center front holding a metal funnel.

"Greetings, fellow villagers, and welcome to _The First Annual World Unity Festival_! Generously funded of course by the Bei Fong family", the man said, holding the funnel up to his mouth,"Some of you aren't fully convinced that The War is truly over, that this simple fair is merely a premenition to a horrific catastrophe comparable to the destruction of the Air Nomads. You demand proof that you can sleep well tonight without your entire house set ablaze! Well here, ladies and gentlemen, _is_ that proof!" he motioned behind him.

The crowd lit up with thunderous applause as the Fire Lord (who left to retreave his headpiece at the last minute) and Water Tribe cheifs, their friends and family, and the Avatar entered the stage and took their seats.

"Ooh, Toph! Lift your feet off of the floor. The wood might splinter your bare feet", nitpicked Lao to his daughter, Poppy nodding in agreement.

" _Yes, Father_ ", Toph grumbled, pulling her feet up under her seat which, of course, was on the opposite side of the stage where her friends sat.

"Why are we doing this again?" murmured Bato to Hakoda.

"Just keep smiling, future generations will remember what we did to preserve peace in this world", the Southern Water Cheif explained beneath his false grin.

"As you can see", the man continued," some of the world's most important faces are here tonight, former enemies literaly sitting beside eachother to confirm that your houses will, in fact, not be set on on fire...at least not intentionaly. But of course you already knew that, for otherwise you would not have come here to listen to the words of your savior himself. So, without any futher distraction, and with monumentous humility, I hand over this funnel to Avata-" before the announcer could finish, the young Avatar zipped to his left and began wispering in the man's ear.

"What?...Who?...Are you sure?" the announcer mumbled stupidly into the funnel,"Avatar Aang has just told me that talking about himself and all the amazing things he did throughout his travels would not show much humility of him, so he has decided...er, not to give his speech."

"WHAT!?" Sokka shreiked, almost feeling like ripping his ponytail off.

" _Aww..._ " moaned the crowd in unison as they turned to leave.

"Instead", the annoucer began, causing the crowd to stop in mid-turn and look back at him curiously,"the Avatar has decided that the superior alternative would be a testimony from one his closest friends. So, fellow villagers, I re-present to you, Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe."

"Sokka?" Katara repeated,"You picked _Sokka_ to tell people about his experiences in The War? You do know Sokka's Sokka, right?" she inquired, motioning to her clearly offended brother.

"Of course I know" Aang said, returning to his seat,"Sokka was the one who wrote my speech in the first place. He should know it by heart!"

"But I can't say it!" Sokka explained,"It was meant specificly for _you_ and only _you_ to recite it publicly! It was supposed to be from your exact perspective of The War! If I say it, it'll just sound really weird and won't make any sense!"

"It couldn't make any less sense than the speech itself", Bato joked, being one of the Avatar's practice audience.

"For your information, Bato, my son happens to be a very gifted and tactical individual", Hakoda said sternly, before taking a moment to glance at the "tactition's" dopy grin,"...I'm sure he'll be able to...improvise...or something..."

Several claps and _whoot'_ s sounded throughout the crowd as the young swordsmen walked to the podium. The announcer handed Sokka the funnel and walked back through the curtians.

Whatever voice Sokka had descended into his gut as he realized all eyes were on him, including his father and girlfriend.

He made an unusually audible _ahem_ into the funnel, signifying that he was about to speak.

The audience silently awaited his voice. Aang was now wondering if his decision still retained any wisdom.

"War!" Sokka finally blurted out,"It's a...very...bad thing..." the crowd remained silent. Sokka ran that back through his mind."Of course you guys already...knew that since...well, ya know, I mean, why else would we all be here for, right? Goin' from town to town...spreadin' peace...and harmony and..." Hakoda rubbed the bridge between his eyes,"Well, what I mean is...as a person who's...experienced the art of war first hand...I've managed to...um...pick up certain...characteristics of a warzone..."

"What kind of characteristics, Sokka!?" Suki yelled, attemting help the Water Tribe warrior better formulate his sentences.

"Well, I'm glad you asked, _Suki_..." Sokka growled through gritted teeth,"During my-er- _our_ travels-that makes me and my friends- I have observed that the general battle tends to be very...loud, and...disorganized and...usually lasts a really long time which, I guess, except for the Day of Black Sun...we got our butts kicked in under an hour..." he trailed off, gaining a few glares from veterans in the crowd,"...If you were to lose your hat in the middle of a battle you'd...probably never find it again...but, nobody has to worry about that kinda' stuff anymore..."

" _Why not_?" inquired a random person in the audience.

Sokka was caught off guard."...Oh, well, because...because...The War's over!"

The audience boomed, giving the Water Tribe warrior the motivation he needed to find his voice again."Yep, The War's definately over with. And, you don't have to worry about the new Fire Lord, either. He's a pretty swell guy. Course', he wasn't so swell a year ago, with all the capturing and the pillaging and the burning stuff to the ground..." he recalled, causing the crowd's cheers to dim and a chill to crawl up Zuko's back."He was kind of an angry jerk, too. He went where he wanted, took what he wanted, ya know, as Fire Nation as you can get.." he stopped, remembering who he was talking to and what for."...Although, there was all that stuff about Zuko being banished and fleeing away to Ba Sing Se with his uncle. They even created there own tea shop together", the audience and Zuko tensed down slightly,"Well I guess that's not totally true..." everyone tensed bach up,"He did turn on us at the last minute and teamed back up with Azula to conquer Ba Sing Se in the name of the Fire Nation. It was funny, too, because the entire world thought Zuko actually _killed_ the Avatar. Can you believe it? Well, of you can believe it because...you believed it!"

Bato had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing while Hakoda had to cover his face to keep from crying. Katara threw Aang a now-look-what-you-did type glare, the young Avatar countered with a how-was-I-supposed-to-know-this-was-gonna-happen type shrug.

"Er...anyway, after a few more months of bein' his old self, he switched sides at the last minute and we've been buddies ever since. I can assure you, Fire Lord Zuko isn't the kind of guy who would wanna restart The War; I'm not even sure how he would be able to do that since Sozin's Comet won't be back for another hundred years. Of course, it could be plausible, given the scenario that Zuko out-lives us all by twenty or thirty years just long enough to use the comet's power to begin another campaign to conquer the-"

Before anonther syllable could be uttered from the bableing Water Tribe warrior's lips, Fire Lord Zuko hastily snatched the funnel from Sokka's hand and covered his mouth." _WHAT_ my friend here is trying to tell you kind village people, is that I would never be conceited enough as to do what Fire Lord Sozin did. One hundred years ago, all the Fire Nation desired was to be better; and one decade ago, all the Fire Nation desired was to be better than everybody else. I know of the horrific attrocities the Sozin Regime has brought upon you. We've layed waist to your homes, and took away your only means of escape, all for what we thought was glory. Even Fire Lord Ozai, my own father, scarred and exiled me for merely speaking out in his presence, but things are different now. I know that fire is a desrtuctive element, and if we are to regain our honor, we must learn to produce, and give back. And I say now", he paused," that if I do live to be a hundred and sixteen, and make the same mistake my forefathers made, the next Avatar in the cycle can do whatever he or she wants with me!"

The audience exploded with cheers for the new Fire Lord. Zuko handed the funnel back to Sokka, now feeling shorter, and returned to his seat.

"Pretty smooth, Zuko," Mai complimented,"you sounded just like your uncle."

The Fire Lord absorbed her opinion."I did, didn't I?" he smiled. Of course, he was merely quoting a backup speech pre-written by Iroh himself incase the Avatar's speech backfired.

"Ugh...yeah...that's exactly what I was trying to tell you with all the...yeah" Sokka handed the funnel back to the announcer, and gloomly walked back to his seat between his father and sister.

"Well, I don't know about you, fellow villagers", the announcer began,"but I thought that was an unforgetable declamation from the Fire Lord...and, the other guy...Now, I am well aware that the Moon has left its epicenter in the sky, but I'm sure are willing to spare one more moment of your time for a special surprise prediction from Makapu Villages own: Aunt Wu", he announced.

Another set of applause rang as the old fortune teller (and apparently Sokka's arch nemesis) revealed herself from the curtains and calmly made her way to the podium.

"Aunt Wu! I almost forgot this part! Oh, I hope it's nothing bad..." Katara pondered somewhat fanaticly.

"It's never anything bad", Mai stated bluntly,"That's the trick."

" _Thank you_ ", Sokka grumbled, satisfied that at least someone shares his general skeptical view.

Aunt Wu laid her cloud chart onto the podium, and observed the night clouds carefully."Be weary of heavy rainfall during the following week; all those burnt crops should heal _very_ soon."

Some old farmers in the crowd cheered at this news.

Aunt Wu looked up at the clouds again, and back at her chart. She smiled."Ah, a sudden heatwave shall occur in the West; perfect for some beach-time recreation at Ember Island."

"Well, I know where _I'm_ going..." Katara sang.

Sokka drooped even lower into his seat.

"And finally..." Aunt Wu paused, looking into the clouds a third and final time.

The crowd was in complete suspense.

"Please don't be anything about space...please don't be anything about space..." Aang chanted nervously to himself.

"You know she's just gonna say the volcano won't erupt..." Mai explained pestimisticly.

Aunt Wu threw her wrinkled hands in the air."Mount Makapu will not erupt for another three years!"

The crowd boomed at her announcement.

"Wow, Mai, can you see the future too?" Tylee inquired, amazed by her friend's "new-found powers".

Mai responded with a characteristic sigh.

Upon a quick glance toward the sky, an odd sight caught Suki's notice."Um, Aunt Wu, do the clouds say anything about meteors?" She called, gaining both the fortune teller's and Avatar's attention.

Aunt Wu turned to her."A meteor?" The fortune teller questioned, looking back up at the sky to search for a bunny-shaped cloud, which of course meant certain doom. She saw no such cloud. What she did see, however, was an ominous blue light shining from behind a large cumulus.

Aang's heart skipped a beat."...no...not here..."

The cloud burst open as a meteor fell out the heavens and into view.

The surrounding people started to panic, prompting Katara to rush to the podium and grab the funnel from Aunt Wu's hand."Relax, everybody, there's no reason to freak out. If something really bad was going to happen, Aunt Wu certainly would have predicted it and called for an evacuation", Katara explained to them, gesturing to Aunt Wu, which only succeded in making the fortune teller even more nervous since she had not forseen anything like this before hand."The meteor will probably land safely somewhere behind Mount Makapu."

Unfortunately, the meteor was not going to land behind Mount Makapu; in fact, a quick obervation at it's trajectory would reveal that the falling object was heading straight _for_ Mount Makapu.

The meteor (now officially a meteorite) slammed into the mouth of the dormant volcano, followed by a resonating _boom_ and then silence...

After an incredibly long seven seconds, Poppy sigh with great relief."Whew...Well, that could've far worse, now couldn't it?" she mused.

In steep contrast, Toph's eyes widened."Wait for it..." Toph's declaration bewildered her parents, until a rumbling of the ground could be heard and felt throughout the surronding area.

And then, to everyone's horror, the quiescent Mount Makapu was no longer quiescent.

The volcano erupted, spewing tons of magma and flaming boulders in every direction. Villagers fled eveywhere, hoping they would not be crushed under a heated rock.

A flaming rock was hurdleing right for the petrafied crowd. Aang sped across the stage and air-lept high up, kicking a blast of air, simultaniously cooling it off and neutralizing its momentum.

The young Avatar and boulder touch down onto the empty space that was once filled with a cheering crowd. He took out his bison whistle and blew. Appa bellowed onto the scene just in time to smack an incoming boulder out of harm's way with his tail. The bison landed on the right of his master.

"Zuko! Katara! Toph! Hurry Up!" Aang called for his friends, who hastily complied, climbing up Appa.

"Yip-yip!" He commanded as he whipped the reins, causing the bison to dash for the sky and toward the raging volcano.

"...Um, okay, what are we supposed to do, watch the monkey?" Mai inquired.

Unsuprisingly, said bat lemur's chirp could be heard as Momo perch onto Sokka's shoulder.

Sokka greeted the lemur by scratching his ear, though not facing him."As I said: you get used to it."

* * *

Appa landed at the base of the volcano. Aang and Toph jumped off and pushed their hands opposite of eachother, forming a deep trench between them and the volcano, detouring the lava. Aang air-jumped far over the trench as Toph prepared a rock wall to increase the volume of the trench. Aang swung his fist upwards in mid-air, causing a stalagmite to pierce through the lava, creating a spot for him to land. The young Avatar jerked his fist to the left, forming an earth wall down the left of the volcano to further detour the lava from the village.

Before the airbender could sigh with relief, Mount Makapu exploded a second time, launching another hail of flaming boulders all over the defenseless village. Katara and Zuko took to the sky on Appa. Zuko blasted away every boulder within his range with his firebending; Katara matched the Fire Lord, gathering water particals from the air and flinging them at all the boulders on her side of the constantly swaying Appa.

Zuko turned to look at his firebending pupil for just a moment."Aang, look out!"

The Avatar could have sworn he heard his firebending teacher call for him; then again, he could have also sworn he heard a sudden _woosh_ above him. Aang jumped away right before a boulder smashed into the stalagmite he was standing on. He quickly created a slab of rock out of the volcano that he could safely land on, which he did, a little harder than he had hoped.

"AANG!" Katara cried out to him. She pulled the reigns in the Avatar's direction, commanding Appa to fly to the airbender.

Zuko took hold of the reigns as the waterbender jumped off Appa and on to the artificial ledge where the young Avatar lay motionless.

"Aang, com'on, get up!" Katara cried, rocking the unconscious boy violently,"Please, you can't go like this, your too precious to me! Please!" she screamed, but he simply would not move.

' _How could this happen?_ ' Katara thought. He was the Avatar, he practicly had the planet itself under his will, but this is how he dies? Falling on his face while trying to subdue a volcano?

The Water Tribe girl's mind flashed back to last winter, the first time she ever saw those quiet, grey eyes, and all the hilarious adventures they shared together. Her mind skipped over to spring, deep in the caverns of Old Ba Sing Se, the first time Aang had ever lost a fight; the only reason he lived to remember that loss was because of that little trickle of water from the spirit oasis at Northern Water Tribe. She no longer possessed

that, though. And even after all those months of endless training and preparation, they suffered another humiliating defeat at the hands of the same psychopath that killed him. But despite all that, it happened: he beat the Fire Lord, he saved the entire world; and then, the kiss, the single cherry on top that would guaruntee that all their hardships were over. But now, she was sitting here, holding the motionless body in her hands. Was this what she was fighting for? Had that kiss been utterly meaningless?

"Ya know, Katara..."

The girl's eyes shot open and turned to the source of the whisper.

"it seems like your alwaya having to force me awake. Maybe I should consider getting an alarm hawk?"

"Oh, Aang..." she said, embracing the the Air Nomad.

"Um, Katara, this is kind of inappropriate..." Aang tried to remind her.

"What? We're just hugging," Katara retorted, tightening her hold.

"That's not what I meant!" he shouted, pointing behind her.

Aang pushed the waterbender off of him, sprung to his feat, and sent a powerful gail that instantly cooled the glob of lava behind them, thus putting an end to another redundant piece of mushy filler.

Katara came to her senses."Oh!...of course...we were stopping the volcano...heh heh..." she mumbled to herself, stroking the back of her hair.

Aang looked down at the village. Parts of it were on fire, more so the festival (by this point, the entire stage was destroyed). He turned to his left to see Zuko, still on the floating bison, attempting to redirect the heat of the lava. It was then that the young Avatar had an idea. Unfortunately, it required far more power than the boy could muster. To act on his idea, he would need the power of his predicessors, power that most poeple presumed was his true power, but he liked to think the opposite. Since the day of the comet, Aang had sought to rely on his own ability, believing that accessing this power was an escape from his responsibilities. he glanced up at the volcano's mouth, still releasing a constant fountain of lava. The Air Nomad's lips quivered; this defied all he believed about his duties, but he knew if he posponed it anylonger, he would end up reenacting Roku's death.

"Zuko!" Aang called.

The Fire Lord heard the call. He stopped his technique and guided Appa to the ledge.

"Take Katara to a safe place," the Avatar commanded him,"I'm going to stop the volcano!"

The young monarch found that an incredible declaration, even from the Avatar."Just like that? Do you even have that much power?"

"I don't...not on my own," Aang explained.

The water and fire benders understood. Katara climbed back onto Appa; the bison flew away torwards the village.

Aang shared one more moment of eye contact with Katara before turning his attention back to the raging volcano's mouth. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and pressed his fists together.

Suddenly, his solid blue arrow tattoos illuminated a colorless white; his glowing pupiless eyes shot open: he was in the Avatar State.

The ledge lowered in angle and scaled the mountain at a great pace.

Zuko and Katara turned their heads and watched as the lava seemed to split open like the tearing of fabric.

The slab stopped at the edge of the firey culdrin.

In his enlightened state, the Avatar knew he could take advantage of a certain technique where he could extract the heat from the glowing magma, turning it back into stone He prepared himself to assert control over all the magma in the volcano. But something... something elevating upwards, up through the magma.

Suddenly, a thunderbolt could be heard; storm clouds, began to gather over the volcano, and only the volcano. Down snuck a bolt of lighting, striking the center of the boiling magma, currents of electricity sparkling around the spot. The patch of lava rose like a mound, raising into a large dripping sphere, surrounded by electricity. The lava gradually slid off to reveal the source of the lightning: a blue, metallic figure, with large horns all over its head, large spear-like fingers, enveloped in a barrier that protected it from the magma, and glowing blood-red eyes - eyes that creeked directly at the Avatar.

The metal creature surveyed its surroundings. _**"Oh me oh my, did I do this?"**_ It asked, speaking without a mouth. _**"I really made a mess of things didn't I? And who are you supposed to be,**_ _ **little boy?"**_ it asked, cocking its huge metallic head to the side.

 _"I AM THE AVATAR, THE MASTER OF ALL FOUR ELEMENTS, THE BRIDGE TO THE_ _SPIRIT WORLD, AND THE PROTECTOR OF BALANCE AND HARMONY! HOW DARE YOU_ _INVADE MY HOME AND ENDANGER THE LIVES OF MY PEOPLE?"_ Aang thundered. _t_ he body of a hundred voices speaking through him.

" **Well, that' a bit of a mouth full. Not sure if this comes off as an apology - especially since** _ **I'm not sorry - bur I was only trying to soften my landing with some molten rock. By the way,**_ _ **the volcano ? It was getting ready to go off very soon anyway, don't go blaming me for speeding up an act**_ _ **of nature "**_ The creature explained and replied coldly.

"YOU ARE NEITHER SPIRIT NOR ANIMAL, AND SO YOU ARE A THREAT TO ALL LIFE!" The Avatar announced.

 _ **"In that case, it is you who is a threat to MY life. Prepare to die...Avatar..."**_ As he spoke, a yellow light appeared within the hole of its chest-plate, which grew in intensity, until it shot out of his chest like a missile, prompting the Avatar to bring up two boulders from behind him to block it, which were blown to bits in his place.

The Avatar replied by raising a glob oflava and punched it at the creature, who repelled it with its barrier. The metal creature then bent over an blasted forth with a rocket on its back; forcing the Avatar to air dash upwards before the creature crashed right through the volcano's rim. The Avatar summoned his air sphere, allowing him to levitate; he turned around to meet the Metal creature in the air.

"What's Aang doing?" Katara wondered, barely able to see him from the ground.

"It looks like...he's fighting somebody... " Sokka realind.

" 'Fighting somebody'? In the Avarar State?" Toph questioned."'Who could he be fighting!?"

"I think it's someone like that... " Sokka speculated, staring at the conflict happening high in the sky.

* * *

Avatar Aang punched massive fireballs at his target, who soared around him like a bullet. The creature got tired ofthatand blasted the last latest fireball with its light ball. It zoomed for Aang faster than he could react, smashing into his air sphere and knocking Aang a ways back as the creature passed by, but the air barrier managed to hold. Of course the creature whipped around and blasted back, ramming Aang again, and again, and again, weakening the sphere each time. The Avatar preempted the next strike by punching his fists together, causing the sphere to expand like an explosion o wind, blasting the creature away. But the creature stabilized itself with its rocket back, and shot a series of light balls at the expanding air sphere, doing little to affect it.

* * *

"Okay, that thing is definitely not human! " Sokka announced.

"Then what is it!?" Toph demanded, sick of not being able to see airborne fights.

"I think it's the meteor; it may have been more than just a falling space rock," Zuko speculated.

"So what do we do?" Katara wondered.

"Well, if whatever-it-is is giving Twinkle-toes trouble, I kinda doubt us normal benders'll even his chances, Sugarqueen... " Toph replied.

"How can you recite monikers at a time like this!?" Sokka exclaimed.

"It helps me cope at times like these..." Toph said honestly.

"I'm going up there!" Katara announced.

"Hey, you're free to use Appa..." taunted Sokka. In the next moment, Katara was already on Appa."Yip-Yip! " she snapped the reigns;, causing Appa to fly forth, taking her brother completely by surprise.

"HEY! NOT LITERALLY! I WAS DARING YOU IRONICALLY!" blind-sided Sokka called out to her in vain.

"Is she out of her mind!?" Zuko exclaimed.

* * *

The creature stopped firing. _**"Well, this is clearly useless..."**_ it settled, realizing it could not penetrate the air barrier _**"But this should do the trick..."**_ the creature's yellow chest cavity shifted into a silvery grey, losing all of its texture and gaining a soft of liquid consistency; the silver portion expanded out of his midsection, morphing into a long, wide, cylinder shape. It's liquid core instantly turned solid, and shifted into a large blue canon. The inside of the barrel glowed with an intense pink light. _**"And thank you very much, E-123... "**_ The canon unleashed with a thunderous blast a huge purple energy beam that plowed through the air barrier, nearly grazing Aang, so powerful that the mere shock forced him out of the Avatar State.

Without the air, he plummeted down with a scream, until he was seized by the leg with a set of metal claws. From his upside-down position, the vulnerable Aang looked up at the burning red eyes glaring down at him. Aang desperately blasted the eyes with fire... but it did nothing.

 _ **"Would you believe I fighting someone else earlier in the same position as you? Upside-**_ _ **down...and completely helpless..."**_

Aang sweated raindrops. He couldn't go into the Avatar State if this thing killed him at that exact moment...

The creature lifted him to eye-level, and raised his free hand up to the boy's eye; the tip of the claw was electrified. _**"And by the way: those forces you were controlling? Those are classified as states of**_ _ **matter, not 'elements'... "**_

But just then, right out of the creatures view, a blade of ice soared straight for it, slicing right through the elbow of the arm holding Aang up.

Aang fell once more.

The creature looked down from his left to see Katara, coming in on the head off Appa. The creature had to dodge out of the way before he was rammed by the angry flying bison. Katara forced Appa to loop over and fly down for the falling Aang.

 _ **"Is that a flying buffalo?"**_ it noted It then looked at the metallic nub that its arm used to be attached to. With this in mind, it blasted down for the bison.

The three figures bluffed downward, sailing closer to the earth. As Katara neared Aang, holding her hand out to grab his, the metal creature appeared right in front of her.

 _ **'"You owe me an arm; I think I'll take yours..."**_

The site of this drove Aang mad, mad enough to ignite the Avatar State. Before the creature could make contact with Katara, he was blown away by Aang's air sphere. Avatar Aang pushed the creature all the way up in the sky; then he blasted it even further. He caught it with a huge fire tentacle, swinging it around, then sling-shotting it straight back into the mouth of Mt. Makapu.

Avatar Aang landed at the rim of the volcano , and spread his hands abroad the lake of molten rock. The rumbling around the area increased just noticeably, but then it stopped. A second eerie silence took place...

Just then, the Avatar aggressively pushed his palms skyward, causing an enormous ploom of pure heat to skyrocket before him, transferring every particle of warmth into a pillar of hot air, paralleling the diameter of the volcano's mouth. In seconds, every drop of lava, right down to the magma chamber itself, quickly cooled into solid stone, returning Mount Makapu to a dormant (if anything, extinct) state.

* * *

Aang airscooter-ed back down to the village, surveying the damage; everyone seemed to be alright. The surrounding village people, coming out of their cover, applauded at the Avatar's latest deed.

"Nice job, Twinkletoes," Toph chimed in,"not alot o' people can take the earth on and win; that was a bit overkill, though," she commented, given the feat he had just completed was about as impressive as revoming a person's bendng.

"What was that thing!?" Zuko asked.

Aang blinked." ...It wasn't a spirit, I'll tell you that..." he said."l think...it might have been some kind of... living machine..."

"A 'living machine'?" quoted Toph."That sounds like a contradiction to me...well, at least it's a

dead now; 'bout time you finally killed a monster! " she punched him in the shoulder.

The thought finally hit Aang. In his fit of rage, he took a life to protect Katara. His whole body slumped in the realization. "What have I done...?"

"You saved the world is what you did..." Zuko patted his student on the back." And if it

were a machine, then it wasn't alive, so I wouldn't fret too hard about it. "

That made Aang feel better...

"I can't believe this happened..." Sokka lamented.

"Yeah, and right in the middle of such an important and joyous event," Suki added, but the Water Tribe warrior seemed to be ignoring her.

"...It's just seems so bizarre after all time and effort that YOU WERE WRONG!" he spontaniously cried happily, spinning around and shoving his finger in Aunt Wu's face.

"Excuse me?" the fortunteller inquired.

"You heard what I said: you just got through telling everybody specificly that Mount Makapu wouldn't go off for the next three years! You had no idea that was gonna happen _just_ like the rest of us! Ergo, your not real! I was right, and you were wrong, so HA!"

"You better hope I'm not a real fortunteller," Aunt Wu defended herself, resting her old hands on her old hips,"otherwise, that little fluke could have been a sign that the universe has been altered. Besides, I was right about everything else, wasn't I?"

Unfortunatly for the young Avatar, Aang had caught this while examining some of the burnt buildings." 'Altered'? In a good way, you mean?" he nervously inquired, with a faint pleading tone.

"Oh, it's probably nothing," replied the fortuneteller sarcasticly,"it could be just a change of weather, or a powerful, destructive force has manifested itself and is intent on consuming the universe and everything in it."

"Whoah, all that just because you were wrong about something?" Katara asked, in a student-to-teacher like fashion.

Sokka's worried expression faded."Then I guess it's a good thing you're _not_ real! Hence your wrongness!"

"Hey...she _was_ wrong!" cried a random bystander,"She said Mount Makapu woundn't erupt yet!"

"Hey yeah, your right!" aggreed another one.

A crowd began to develop around the fortune teller, though this one was not as cheery as the previous crowd.

"Everybody, calm down," tried Katara, standing in front of Aunt Wu protectively,"We all know of the countless things that occured that Aunt Wu _did_ predict. There is only one reasonable explanation why our beloved fortune teller was suddenly...er...inaccurate on such an important matter: there is something wrong with the universe."

The Water Tribe girl was clearly oblivious to the sounding absurdity of her statement. Her father coundn't help but put a palm to his forehead.

"Oh _suure_ ," mocked a bald man,"Whe're talkin' about the same woman that told me my hair would grow back by winter. Well, it's almost winter, and I'm still bald!"

"Well, maybe you should wait until winter," suggested Katara.

"I'm not waitin' that long! I want it back now!"

The crowd rooted for the bald man.

A young man with peculiar red shoes stood forward."She also told a year ago that I would fall in love in these shoes, And I've been wearing them ever since!"

"Realy?" inquired a young woman with a peculiar blue hat,"Aunt Wu made the same prediction about my hat!"

It was love at first sight.

"Wanna have dinner?" asked the man.

" _Sure_ ," cooed the woman.

They both walked off holding hands, Though the people seemed not to notice either blunder.

Angry screams began to accumulate as the surronding villagers voiced out other "faults" in Aunt Wu predictions.

"Now...now come on, everyone,"Aunt Wu tried," most of these prediction haven't even happened yet, so...um...Look! Another meteor!" she shouted, pointing to a random spot in the night sky. The fortune teller dashed for home as everyone looked to the direction she pointed, showing remarkable physical apptitude for her ripened age.

"Hey, there's no meteor! She was wrong again!" pointed out a man.

"Let's go home!" said a woman.

The people started to leave

Katara raised her hands."Wait! That wasn't a prediction! Aunt Wu was just diverting your attention so...you...wouldn't...run after her...I hope your happy," she hissed, glaring at her brother, who had his arms crossed and smirking.

"Good, cause I am," retorted Sokka.

Chief Arnook walked up."I suppose it's time we end this tour before things get any worse. The people of the Northern Water Tribe are probably anxious for my return. It would be best if I left tonight so as to not keep them waiting," he explained to the southern chief.

"I agree," Hakoda said,"Though one of us should return to the Fire Nation. There are still a lot of council meetings that need a Water Chief present."

"Agreed," Arnook turned around and looked at the Moon, still a quarter full. The chief sighed, and walked away, wondering if he'd ever see her again.

"Welp', I guess we should leave too," said Toph, folding her hands behind her head,"We're kind of jinxing ths town, anyway. I'll be in the airship if you need me..."

"Now hold on a second, Toph..." Lao stopped his daughter, laying a hand on her shoulder,"We're going back to Goaling. It's time to go home," he declared sternly.

The blind bender sighed again."Of course. How could I forget?" she recited glumly.

Poppy noticed this."...er...And besides, the next Earth Rumbler tournament is coming soon. You need to defend your title."

Toph gasped with exitement."You remembered!"

* * *

Before long, the group broke off, all airships were in the air and heading for home.

All the passengers in Fire Lord Zuko's ship were fast asleep except, of course, Aang,who was sitting alongside the right edge of the ship, gazing at the stars-he was holding his glider, for safety.

He was the only one on the ship who had any understand of what just happened; and frankly, he felt more alone than ever. Where did that machine come from'? Did it even intend to attack him? It mentioned something about fighting someone _else_ before fighting him. Whatever it was, the Avatar almost died this night because of it, and that was reason enough to believe its destruction was necessary. But what about the giant stone object? Is that where it came from? Maybe, if it were really a machine, then its maker could be in there? Aang certainly did not want to meet whomever created _that_.

Aunt Wu was right, the universe had been altered, if for just a moment; and the worst part of it was that stone object was still up there, waiting for him, and he had no means of reaching it before another disaster struck. Whatever that thing was, or what it was here for, the Avatar would have to wait for its maker to come to him.


	2. Prologue

**Space Colony Ark 7:08p.m. Eastern Time**

If one might happen to be observing the stars via telescope, at the right angle and time, one could come across the utter magnificence that is Space Colony ARK, one of, if not the, greatest scientific achievement the world has ever known. Designed by the world's top minds, including Dr. Gerald Robotnik, the most brilliant man of his time,or any other time for that matter; ironically enough, the grandfather and inspiration to the infamous Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik. In many ways, this display of raw genius is much like the source of ultimate power it was designed to harness- the Chaos Emeralds. In the right hands, like that of Earth's hero and undisputed "fastest thing alive", Sonic the Hedgehog, it can be used for good, bring about world peace, and change the earth for the better. But in the wrong hands, like that of the ancient alien warlord, the late Black Doom, it can just as easily be used to destroy the world, and bring about a great purge of intergalactic proportions; and now was no one were to come across the space colony at this very moment, one would be astounded to see the dozens of enormous spacecraft surrounding the great space station. For at this very moment, the aformentioned Dr. Eggman was taking this window of opportunity to execute his latest and greatest plan yet, and a certain aformentioned hedgehog hot on his trail...

Explosions and laser-fire were ringing throughout the halls, countless Eggman robots shooting in every direction, all releasing their firepower on one single target, and missing every shot.

"AAAAAAAWWW-YEAAAAAAHH!", cried a blue blur as it bolted straight through one of the robots. It then quickly ricocheyed off of another one ,knocking it into a wall and smashing it. The blur repeated the same trick with five more robots until finaly schreeched to a hault, revealing itself to be Sonic the Hedgehog. Two of the robots tried to flank Sonic by standing on either side of him and simultaneously firing two bazookas at merely ducked, and the two robots ended up blowing themselves up.

"Man, Eggman's toys just keep getting weaker and weaker", complained Sonic.

"I know what you mean", said a voice behind him.

Sonic turned around to see his best friend and former rival, Knuckles the Echidna, casually holding a robot in his left hand.

"Is it just me, or are these 'bots lighter than the last ones?",quiried Knuckles,who then tossed the robot out of sight.

Just then, a large, round shadow appeared above Knuckles. Knuckles looked up just in time to see a gigantic malet speeding down at him. The not-enough-sense-to-move echinda closed his eyes, and prepared for a world of hurt when suddenly, the malet stopped. Confused, Knuckles cautiously opened one eye to see the enormous malet caught in the strong, metallic arms of E-123-Omega.

Despite Omega's great strength, he was clearly having great difficulty holding off the immense, hammer-wielding mech. He quickly activated his jet boosters, boosting his strength enough to start lifting up the huge, hunk of steal.

As the former-badnik was gaining the advantage, the mech was completely oblivious to a surprise attack from Rouge the Bat, backflip-kicking it off of Omega, and ascended just in time for a yellow sphere to zip passed her, and ricochey off of three floating robots, destroying them.

The sphere then revealed itself to be Shadow the Hedgehog, who still in mid-air launched a volley of Chaos Spears down onto the still-disoriented mech, finishing it off. Shadow touched down right next to Rouge and Omega just before the headless robot fell ocer with loud _thud._

Then, a mysterious clapping could be heard. The trio turned to see Sonic clapping at their "performance".

"Wow, great form, guys. You must of been workin' on that one for weeks", the blue hedgehog joked,"Is that your knew Team Move? What do ya call it?

Shadow merely crossed his arms, turned around, closed his eyes, and said nothing.

"Shadow?" Sonic tried again.

Still nothing.

"Oh come on, Shadow, you're not still mad at me, are you?"

Shadow remained motionless: however, he did begin to speak.

" 'Cm'on, Shads, come down from your perch and take some _r'_ n _'r. nobody_ ever touches the Ark' ", the black and red hedgehog mumbled to himself with a goofy slur.

"Are... are you quoting me?" asked the confused blue hedgehog.

Shadow turned his attention to his large, robotic comrad. "Omega, send a message to Sonic saying that no one ever touches Space Colony Ark because I am always on my 'perch' protecting it", he ordered him.

Omega complied, and stomped over to Sonic. "SONIC, YOU HAVE RECEIVED A MESSAGE FROM SHAD-"

"Omega, go send a reply to Shadow saying that a certain fake hedgehog might have a rather high opinion of himself" Sonic cut the robot off.

Omega stomped back over to Shadow. "SHADOW, SONIC HAS REPLIED TO YOUR-"

"Omega, send another message to Sonic depicting how my opinion of myself is very consistent, and how he'll just make things worse by bringing him and his little fan club along", Shadow reordered Omega.

Omega then stomped back over to Sonic. "SONIC, YOU HAVE RECEIVED ANOTHER MES-"

"Omega, kindly send another reply to that static-haired ingrate reminding him that if it wasn't for my 'fan club', he'd be long dead right now", Sonic commanded the robot.

Omega, by now having thorough perspective of the situation, obediently stomped back to Shadow. "SHADOW, SONIC HAS-"

"Omega, please send one more message to that chilly dog-addicted wannabe correcting his statement in the way that it was _I_ who saved all of _you,_ and, unlike me, he has only so long to live."

"Dude, I'm sixteen."

"Then _maybe_ you should start acting your age!"

"Oh yeah? Well if you acted _your_ age, you'd probably be in some trailer park throwing soda cans at some rotten kids!"

"You wanna throwdown, blue hedgehog!?"

"Geez, old man, is your mind gone already!? I thought you'd at least pick that up sooner!"

"GUYS!"

The two bickering hedgehogs looked over to the source of the scream: for the entire duration of their argument, Silver the Hedgehog was using his telekanesis to hold off an enormous, green, steemroller-armed robot.

"Can't you two find a better time time for this!?" Silver grunted, and thrusted his hand forward, pushing the robot into a crowd of smaller robots, destroying them all.

"Sonic and Shadow never argued this much before", observed Knuckles.

"Sonic and Shadow never talked this much before, either", commented Rouge.

Rouge made an accurate statement; however, this was partialy Sonic's fault. It was Sonic in the first place who attempted to convince Shadow to leave the ARK and take the weekend off. When that didn't work, Sonic taunted Shadow, claiming that he was afraid to come down due to fear of becoming soft. Shadow, instinctively defending his title as the "ultimate lifeform", declared that he feared nothing in a Gauston-like manner, and promptly desended to Earth using the ARK's atificial chaos emmiter to fuel his Chaos Control, thus leaving the space station unattended. Once Dr. Eggman caught wind of the hedgehog's departure, he imediately rounded up his Egg-Fleet and headed for the Ark. The only mystery at the preasent moment was what the mad scientist planned to do with the gargantuous vessel.

The heroes did not have time to contemplate the matter, as a wave of armed robots had entered their sight.

As if on cue, Miles "Tails" Prower dropped right in their path in his pattented Tornado Walker. Omega boosted to his side, and they both unleashed a volley of gunfire that gradualy cut through the wave like a hot chain-saw through butter. Though not gradualy enough, as the number of robots in the hall (not including the dead ones) steadily increased.

Tails turned to Sonic, still shooting. "Sonic, hurry! We'll cover you!" he shouted.

"Ten four! Alright guys, that egg's not gonna crack itself! Let's go!" the azure hedgehog cried, gesturing for Shadow and Silver to follow. He jumped up over Tails and Omega and made his way down the hall, bouncing off of the heads of the dictracted robots.

Silver flew after him, and after a brief "hmph", Shadow followed, instead dashing his way through the robots.

* * *

In an outer section of the ARK, a slightly different battle was playing out...

Vector the Crocodile was engaging in sword-play with one of the robots, making fake muskiteer noises and poses as seen in the movies. "Hah-hah...ho-ho...hoo-hoo...hu-OW!" the crocodile yelped in pain after being thwacked on the head by his lance-weilding machanical opponent. "Why, you little..." Vector punched the robot's face in, and kicked it away.

"Stupid robot. Almost broke my headphones..." the brawny croc mumbled to himself.

He turned to an identictal robot, except this one had a gun. Before it could fire, however, it was horizontily sliced in thirds by an unseen force, athough Vector automaticaly knew who it was.

A small portion of space seemed to be destorted as Espio the Chamelion- weilding a pair of kunai- un-camoflauged himself into visibility. Espio smirked at his handy work, until he noticed a large hunk of scrap to his right flying toward him. He quickly ducked at the last possible second. Vector tried to hold in a chuckle at his startled expression.

Embarrassed, Espio turned his head angrily toward the thrower. "Watch it, you stupid cat!" he shouted.

Big the Cat's ears lowered slightly. "Oh, gee, sorry, Espio, it's just been a while and..."

Meanwhile, a floating robot was cut open by a small, orange blur, and another was punctured by the same blur. Both units fell down and exploded simultaniously.

"Yeah! The skies belong to Charmy once more!" Charmy Bee cried in victory.

"We're in space, Charmy", Espio reminded him

At this, Charmy let his limbs dangle limp. "...oh yeah..." The bee's limbs shot back to life at a sudden realization:" Hey! Where'd Froggy go?"

"Froggy!?" Big exclaimed."FROOOGYYY!" the cat yelled, running all over the place while clutching his head, bashing robots aside by accident.

"Oh great, there he goes again..." Vector lamented, his fist punching another robot as if by itself.

In contrast, Espio seemed genuinley curious as well about the non-anthropomorphic frog's sudden disappearance...until he realized that there was only one place that frog would want to be under these conditions. Without saying a word, the skilled chameleon walked over to the confused Vector, and jabbed the croc in his stomach, causing him to regurgitate a siliva-covered Froggy.

" _Ewww_..." was Charmy's natural reaction.

"FROGGY!" the purple cat called, grabbing the little frog and cradling it in his thick fuzzy arms. He directed a scowl at Vector.

The croc held his hands up."I have no idea how he got in there - I swear."

* * *

Sonic and Shadow did a cross-homing attack, making an _X_ in mid-air and smashing through two robots at the same time. Silver lifted a robot with his telekenisis and balled his hand into a fist, crushing it from all directions, eventualy turning it to basketball-sized sphere and launched the sphere through several other robots at a one hundred-degree angle with bullet speed.

Sonic was about to dash through a big, blue robot when all of a sudden...

 ***splat***

The mecha was flattened like a pancake under a large, red hammer with a golden trim.

 _Oh no..._

"Hiya', Sonic!" Amy Rose cheerfily greeted her quote-on-quote "boyfriend", lifting her signature Piko Piko Hammer over her shoulder

"Ugh...yeah...hiya', Amy", Sonic smacked himself mentaly for not seeing this coming before hand.

"You know, these dark, dusty halls can get pretty scary, but it's always good to have _someone there to protect you_ ", the pink hedgehog cooed, trespassing well into Sonic's comfort zone.

It's not that Sonic didn't find Amy attractive. In fact, he once considered taking her out for a movie. but the very sight of her effortlessly hold a hammer bigger than his own head (and Sonic's head was pretty big) always proved to be an effective hedgehog-repelent. And right now, that thing looked like it was staring him square in the eye.

"Uuuugh...good idea. Why don't you go protect Omega?" He quickly suggested before blasting off after Silver and Shadow.

Amy stared, shocked, but then narrowed her eyes, frustrated that Sonic turned her down once again. Then, without looking, crushed the head of legless robot desperately clawing its way to safety.

* * *

After a little more "redecorating" to the halls, the three hedgehogs found themselves in one of Space Colony ARK's huge cafeterias; currently occupied by a large gathering of mechs, turtle-turrets, and enough heavily-armored infantry to level a city block.

The trio was temporarily stunned to see this many badniks in one place.

Sonic was the first to regain his composure, and pointed out at the robots. " Alright guys: it's time to clean up the Kitchen!"

Silence...

"...Realy?" Shadow inquired, rubbing the peninsula between his eyes.

The three initiated their Team Blast: the Atomic Triple _S_ Cyclone (or at least that's what Sonic liked to call it). Sonic and Shadow stood at either side of Silver, and jumped into their ball forms. Silver caught the two balls with his telekenisis, and levitated between them. The balls began orbiting around Silver at alarming speeds like electrons around an atom (hence Sonic's silly name), covering Silver within a large sphere of blue and yellow streaks of energy. And then, it was off, flattening two robots unlucky enough to be in front. A mech tried to stop the orb with its body, but ended up losing its upper half in a flash. Another average-sized unit

stood in its path, shivering, until the sphere blasted upwards by ninety degrees, and soared for the flying robots, devouring them all in its power. The orb instantly descended, still evading the robot from before; it went for the turtle-turrets, knocking away like cans and grinding the fith against the wall, skidding it to pieces. The ball passed by the same robot again, once more completely missing it. It repeated this pattern several more times until every other Eggman-originated machine in the room was torn to nothing.

The remaining robot looked in all directions, realizing it was now all alone. The unit then calculated that a divine presence of sorts must need it to survive for it to have lasted this long, so it turned to leave, until the orb came out of nowhere and ran the robot over as it made its own way out of the room.

* * *

Knuckles socked a robot, uppercut-ted another, right-hooked a third, and kicked a fourth's head off, sending it bouncing off of other robots.

"Gooooooaaaaallll!" the red echinda laughed at his own reference to soccer."Man alive! This is more fun than I've had in months!" he cheered, pumping his fists in the air and punching another robot.

Rouge was about to agree in a flirtarious tone, until she realized something was wrong."We've gotta get out of here."

"What? Why?" Knuckles questioned while punching another robot,"These guys are easy!"

" _Exactly_ ", Rouge punted a robot.

Knuckles held off a robot with his right hand."I'm not following. How's that bad?" Knuckles was still holding off the robot.

"Why would Eggman make a bunch of cheap, lightweight models to storm the Ark when he knows we're just going to destroy them all and hand what's left back to him?" Rouge asked, spin-kicking another robot.

Knuckles was _still_ holding off the robot "Um... maybe he's accepting his fate?"

"No, it's a distraction. He's thrown together a bunch of scrap for us to play with while he does whatever he came here to do", she explained while delivering a vicious barrage of kicks to a robot's head and ending the combo with a knee to its midsection.

Knuckles' arm was becoming somewhat strained."That... actually makes sense", the echidna agreed before grabbing the robot with both arms and slamming it against the floor.

"What makes sense?" Tails interviened, somehow hearing part of their conversation between the explosions.

"Rouge thinks all these robots are just decoys", Knuckles made it clear to the young fox.

"Decoys? Why would Eggman be willing to waste this many parts?" Tails emvasized his point by motioning to all the newly-added scrap in the hall.

The former jewl thief set the back of her hands on her hips."Shouldn't you be pondering that in your head?" she counter-asked Tails, correcting his point of view.

The three thought hard on what this could mean, their upbeat attitudes beginning to wane.

* * *

The orb dashed through the hall, eviscerating the mechs like they weren't even there. An E-2000 hovered far in front of it, converting into jet-mode and firing its lazer cannon.

The beam did little more than refract off of the sphere, causing divisions of the beam to spiral around it and dice cut every robot the sphere passed by, until it finally collided with the source, the accumulated energy igniting an immense explosion that fried any other robot nearby.

The smoke cleared, and the orb was all that remained. Its hunger quenched, the sphere disapated and vanished, leaving only three exausted hedgehogs.

"I hate doin' that", Silver groaned.

"Speak for yourself", a rather ill-looking Shadow retorted before hurling in one of the destroyed robot's heads.

The dizzy Sonic just now found his hands."Yeah,yeah, it may not be good if you wanna keep your lunch, but it works", the blue hedgehog dismissed his allies complaints,"Now come on. We gotta get to the main computer terminal if we're gonna kick Eggman's butt for the billionth-and-first time", he joked as he trotted down the hall.

"You mean _you_ have to", Shadow corrected him suddenly.

Sonic stopped."What?"

"You heard what I said", the black hedgehog replied, looking far less quizzy.

Sonic turned around fully,"You mean, you guys aren't coming?"

"It's like you said, Sonic", Silver explained,"You've faced Dr. Eggman a billion times, usually alone if I've been told correctly. What makes this time any different?" the silvery-white hedgehog shrugged as he spoke.

Sonic seemed taken back slightly by Silver's acute awarness of his own routine lifestyle. He then turned to the black hedgehog,"And what about you, Shads? This is _your_ ARK."

Shadow blew the question away with his hand."Please. The doctor is your nemesis. The only thing I'm concerned with is the Ark's condition, and I fail to see why he would want to destroy it."

Sonic was touched."Realy? Wow, you guys are the best!"

The dark hedgehog crossed his arms."Of course there is still the matter of helping me clean up the Ark afterwards, like we agreed beforehand?"

Sonic paled. He instantly recalled the promise he made before the battle to Shadow that he would help him clean all the debris from the Ark for leaving the station vulnerable in the first place. Sonic honestly didn't expect his look-a-like to remember that promise after all that action, nor did he expect their'd be so many robot parts to clean up.

"Ugh, yeah...good luck with that", and just like that he was off.

Shadow looked confused."Sonic? Sonic!?"

The blue hedgehog wasn't turning around.

"YOU CAN'T EXPECT ME TO CLEAN ALL THIS CRUD UP ON MY OWN!" Shadow yelled for him, but it was futile.

Silver sighed."He's gone, Shadow", he said with more than a hint of pity.

The black hedgehog began to glow red, but he walk off. It didn't matter. He could just dupe the echinda into doing it for him.

* * *

Meamwhile, in Space Colony Ark's central computer terminal, a certain overweight scientist was typing franticly at the keyboard, setting his "mysterious" plan into motion.

He was mumbling nervously to himself, as usual..."Com'on... gotta hurry up... That hedgehog could be here any minute now..."

"Actually, I'm already here."

The evil genius almost had a heart attack at the sound of said hedgehog's voice. He quickly spun around to see him."Sonic! Heh, your too late! I already have full access to the Ark's-"

"Oh, be quiet, it's not like there was a forcefield around it", Sonic interrupted the scientist as he walked across the thin walkway connecting the terminal to the door that without which the room would be floorless,"Ya know, I know you put a lot of work into your evil monologues, but why don't we just skip to the Final Boss so I can go home and have dinner?"

"You...wait...'final boss'? You think all this is some sort of game!?" Eggman fumed.

"Well, I don't know what else you'd call. Lately, your plans are becoming more predictable than prime time television", the heroic anthro replied honestly.

"'PREDICTABLE'!? YOU THINK I'M-"

Sonic raised his palm to Eggman's face, signaling to yield."Stop. Just stop. Apparently, your the only one around here who doesn't where the wind blows at this point, so lemme' break it down for ya: first, you find information on some ancient mystical so-and-so; next, you formulate a quick, holey scheme while scrubbing yourself off in the shower, or "EggShower" as you probably like to call it; then, you head to the nearest hardware store and buy as many cheap appliances as counterfeit money can buy so you can assemble your 'army'. After I bust a few tin cans, you pop out o' nowhere and tell me _all_ about your 'latest and greatest plan' to take over the world, which you've failed to do so far. After a bit of weight-related insults, you hover away in your rocket-propelled sofa, and I go call Tails so he can fly me over to the ancient Aztec ruins or whatever, picking up some friends along the way. When we finally destroy your Final Boss, which I mentioned earlier, your newfound magical powers backfire into your face, and I have to go Super Sonic in order to stop the world from being sucked into a black hole or that kinda' jazz. Then you return to your not-so-secret base and relocate, whining all the way about how you never win and your plan would of worked if it wasn't for blah blah blah. Then no one hears from you for a little while- I may catch a glimpse of you in a supermarket once or twice- and then we're right back where we started. Thankfully though, I've managed to smuggle a little somethin-somethin behind all my friends backs to break this endless cycle for now..."

Having finished his rant, Sonic closed his eyes and clenched his fist, digging deep inside himself. Then, to Eggman's suprise, he produced all seven Chaos Emeralds, each jewel with its own designated color orbiting around the hedgehog, illuminating him."But to show that I'm still a sport, I'm gonna give you time to come up with a new speech before I power up and pull the plug on this month's evil plot. So, Eggman, tell me, what is it you now have full access to?"

Eggman was paralyzed, his moustache drooping, absorbing his nemeses' entire dialogue. However, oddly enough, his expression of astonishment quickly morphed into an expression of victory."Actually, my fine, furry friend, you took the words right out of my mouth!"

Out of nowhere, seven clawed tentacles lunged from all angles and simultaniously grabbed each of the emeralds, yanking them all out of Sonic's control. Sonic looked up to see the tentacles meet together at the joints of a gray hovering robot.

"Oh, and for the record, you thinking I'm predictable just shows how predictable _you_ are!"

The robot flung each of the Chaos Emeralds into an emerald-imprinted outlet behind the holographic minitor, thus giving Eggman the power source he required.

"This isn't the first time I've tricked you in this exact same manner, you know!" the scientist announced, gesturing to the emeralds.

Now was Sonic's turn to be speechless."...well, at least you see my point. Although, I'm still seeing one major problem in your strategy, Doc: I'mstill here."

Eggman folded his fingers."Which is why I've arranged a little tour of the earth's atmosphere, hosted by an old friend."

Sonic looked puzzled."'Tour of the...'old friend'? Whachoo' talkin'bout, Doc!?"

Just then, a large, famillar shadow loomed above the hedgehog's head. Manning up, Sonic slowly turned his head to the origin, and it was noneother than his infamous mechanized doppleganger: Neo Metal Sonic.

 _ **"Hello, tiny"**_ , he hissed.

Sonic's pupils shrank."...oh, now I get it", it was official, Sonic had now been owned.

Metal Sonic rapped his huge, clawed hand around Sonic's head and threw him agaist the exit door. As quickly as Sonic recovered, the metallic monster rocketed after him, lauching them both through the door that opened automaticly at the last minute, leaving Eggman alone in the room.

The sinister doctor flashed his signiture giddy grin."Heh heh heh...now...to put your chaotic attributes to not-so-good use", he chuckeled as he turned to a large ascending jar-like cage containing an enraged but overtaken Chaos.

* * *

Metal Sonic zoomed through the halls, criss-crossing in multiple directions, carrying Sonic with him. Sonic punched and kicked but it did little more than make the upgraded mecha fly even faster, until they crashed straight out a window, and far away from the Ark.

Metal Sonic finally slowed down, leaving the two floating in Earth's orbit. Fortunately, the combined gravity from the earth and Space Colony Ark accumulated enough oxygen for Sonic to breath.

 _ **"I've been waiting for this for a long time, you little furball"**_ , Metal Sonic growled.

Sonic sighed."I take you didn't hear me and Egghead's discussion about the whole predictability thing?" he inquired, commenting on his opponent's redundant declaration.

 _ **"It doesn't matter what I heard"**_ , Metal Sonic dissmissed him, _ **"Without any ground to run on, your immobilized!"**_

Metal Sonic boosted for the supposed "immobilized" hedgehog, but Sonic curled into ball-form and dashed upwards behind him.

"Again with the overused lines! What is this, an old comic book!?"

* * *

Charmy dodged the lance-wielding robots with ease.

"Float like a butterfly; sting like a me! Ya can't catch me, I'm Charmy the-" the small bee was cut off as he was grabbed in mid-flight by a mech and thrown face-first against the window.

Right before Charmy could remove his smushed face from the window, he noticed a bizzare anomoly outside that perplexed the poor boy. At first, he assumed that the earth, moon, and stars behind it were somehow moving downward, but after a second or two, a more logical theory was drawn in his head:"This whole place is turning upside-down!" he said aloud.

"Oh relax, Charmy", Vector said, misenterpreting the bee,"We've been through crazier stuff than this", he reminded Charmy, delivering a swift haymaker to a robot.

"That's not what I meant!"

"Then, what did youoooowwwwwwoooooooooaaaaaaaahhhhooof!" was the noise Big made as he suffered the same predicament as Charmy, being sweeped up by a mech and hurled into the window right next to Charmy, although this one with a little more _thunk_. The cat then saw Charmy's point, the earth now sliding out of view."Hey! Charmy's right! This whole place is turnin' upside-down! What're we gonna do!?" he turned to Vector for console.

The crocodile crossed his arms."Well...big deal, we've still seen crazier."

Espio, heard a noise behind him and turned around, opposite of Vector."Ever run from a carnivorous horde of cyborg water-monsters?"

"Eh...no."

Espio pointed far in front of himself."Never too late to learn."

Confused once more, Vector turned to see a mob of Artificial Chaos and elite Space Colony Ark sesurity droids barreling straight toward him.

"Nnnnnnnope, definitely never done that before... **RRUUUUUUUUUNNN!** " the croc screamed, fleeing for his life along the rest of the Chaotix (and Big), with now only one thought in his and all the other's minds: _"gotta get back to the ship"._

* * *

Sonic and his metal counterpart clashed with eachother as they bounced off of the surrounding asteroids, creating a small shockwave and bouncing away. They did it again, with no less amount of force. The two looked as if they were miniature comets, bolting to

a certain point in nothingness and being knocked away by their own impact. They clashed again, and again, and again until Metal Sonic decided he had enough of the basics and fired a bolt of electricity at Sonic, who dashed out of its path, leaving him in an upside-down position. Metal Sonic chuckled at this.

 _ **"Hm hm hm, kind like your plans so far, isn't it Sonic?"**_

The azure hedgehog was about to make another comment concerning the mecha's unoriginal dialougue, until he saw Space Colony Ark.

"What's happening to the Ark?"

 _ **"You mean you've only notice that just now? You'd think someone like you would of picked up a moon-sized space station flipping on its top a little sooner..."**_

Sonic readjusted himself."What's Eggman doing with the Ark?" he ask more aggresively.

Metal Sonic chuckled again. _ **"It's over, Sonic."**_

"What?"

 _ **"Your adventures, your victories, your very reason to live. It's all over."**_

"You didn't answer my question. Why is Eggman flipping the Ark upside-down?"

 _ **"Why, so he won't suck the whole planet in with him, of course."**_

Sonic let that sink in for a moment _.'The whole planet with him'_? What does that even mean, Sonic thought. Obviously, Metal Sonic was implying the Eggman was going somewhere, but the hedgehog coundn't find it in him to ask where Eggman was going.

 _ **"Do I have to engrave it on a rock?"**_

* * *

Kuckles, Tails, rouge, and Omega turn at the sound of screaming, and saw the Chaotics running from a group of water creatures and robots.

"Eggman must've reactivated the Ark's security systems", Tails said.

 _ **"It's exactly what you've been talking about."**_

The Chaotix ran right passed them, only to stop several feet in front of another ambush. The droids and Artificial Chaos began firing.

 _ **"Eggman is tired of all the failing, all the losing, all the humiliation...and all the bad jokes."**_

The group did their best to defend themselves, but there were so many, and they were so strong.

 _ **"You have always been the only thing standing between him and the world, so he's decide to move on to a different world. A world where you won't be there to foil his him at every corner."**_

One the Chaos nailed Omega in the shoulder with its thrusting claw, effectively disabling it.

With a roar, Knuckles, Vector, and Big rammed a path through the robots, the others following hastily with Tails' walker in cart-mode, Rouge helping Omega along.

* * *

Eggman laughed as he prepared the Eclipse Cannon."It's time, time to end this pointless frivolity now and forever! Eclipse Cannon...FIRE!" he slammed his finger on the button that would solve all his problems.

Suddenly, Chaos shrieked in pain, crackling with electricity, the very life being drained from his liquid body.

The Chaos Emeralds donned a similar reaction, glowing so bright that the grinning Eggman had to shield his eyes.

* * *

The group finally made it ti the docking bay, their ship already facing outside and ready for a quick escape.

"Now do you see why I always park backwards?" Tails said to Knuckles, smiling triumphantly.

The echinda looked the other direction."It won't help at all if we're not _inside_ of it!" he reminded the young fox angrily.

Another door on the far left exploded open. Shadow skidded to a halt while Silver blocked the doorway with a telekinetic forcefield.

"What did you do!?" Shadow yelled furiously, stomping toward Tails.

"I didn't do this", Tails explained,"Eggman reactivated the security systems somehow. We gotta leave now!"

"No way! I'm not leaving the Ark!"

"Guys, I'm realy not up for doin' this twice!" Silver reminded, struggling to keep the robots in the halls.

"We don't have a choice!" Knuckles shouted, him and Vector grabbed the hedgehog by his arms and shoulders.

Shadow refused to move."No! I'm not leaving my home!" he screamed spontaneously, his eyes filled with rage and angst.

"Well, I guess ya just got evicted!" Vector replied.

Silver moaned as the Artificial Chaos began seeping through the opening in his dissipating forcefield. With a frustrated _Gyah!_ , Silver pulsed a wave of energy at Shadow, knocking him, Mighty, and Knuckles next to the ship, where they heaved the distraught Shadow into the ship along with the rest of the group.

"Hang on to your hats!" Tails announced to the occupants as he started the engine.

"But I don't have a hat!" Big cried, frantically searching for a hat.

"Here ya go", said Knuckles as he handed the feline his stetson.

Big sighed with relief, trying the stetson on."It fits! Oh, thank goodness!" he then took the hat off, put Froggy in the hat, and put the hat back on.

Some of the more pesimistic members rolled their eyes.

As the ship ascended, Silver flew in before in took off into space.

* * *

Sonic watched as the Eclipse Cannon hummed to life, glowing a bright blue. Electrical currents ran down the magnificent weapon as it charged up to fire. And then...

 _ ***BWOOOOOMMM***_

The cannon went off, unleashing an unspeakable amount of energy in the direction of seemingly nowhere. Then, to Sonic's surprise. the ray of energy began to slow down and condense, expanding as more and more energy esimilated into it until, to the hedgehog's horror, reformed into a massive vortex of pure Chaos energy big enough to devour the moon.

 _ **"You see now, Sonic?"**_ Metal Sonic resumed, _ **"Eggman isn't simply migrating to another planet or sector, but an entirely different universe! Thus leaving the two of us to finish what started long ago"**_ , he scratched his forehead, _ **"Then again, when the space station itself gets pulled into the wormhole, there will be no atmosphere to keep a steady supply of oxygen for you to breath. I guess that means I'll win by default..."**_ the mecha chuckled at the image of his organic rival popping like a bubble in the vacuum of space.

Sonic growled, but chuckled."Ya know, if you had a mouth, it'd be bigger than Eggman's!" he shouted, dashing right passed Metal Sonic, and straight for the Ark.

The hulking metal hedgehog turn around. _ **"If you had a brain, you would of remembered that I'm faster than you!"**_

"That's funny, I have a brain but I don't seem to remember that!"

Metal Sonic roared in anger and boosted off after Sonic.

* * *

"Now repolerizing the inter-dimensional elector-magnetizer to positive!" Eggman announced to no one in particular as he fiddled with the the computer terminal.

* * *

Suddenly, the vortex attained a powerful gravitational pull, sucking in all of the enormous battleships, and, at a more gradual rate, Space Colony Ark.

"Ugh, I know this is always a jinx", Charmy started,"but why are we moving backwards?"

Curious as well, Tails turned on the rear-view monitor, revealing to them all of the gigantic wormhole.

The Chaotix glared at the little bee who rubbed the back of his head."I had to know."

The gravity became stronger as the ship neared the portal.

"Looks like I'm gonna miss dinner tonight..." Rouge grimaced, for she still had some left-over cheese strata in the fridge.

The ship started shaking.

"...or every other night for that matter!" Knuckles finished.

* * *

Sonic neared the space station, with Metal Sonic in close persuit, until suddenly, Sonic felt a mysterious force tugging him faster. The azure hedgehog realized that it wasn't the Ark's gravity that was pulling him, but the gravity of the colossal vortex right behind the Ark.

Sonic's heart skipped a beat; this just wasn't his day."Ooohhh milkshakes", the hedgehog squeaked before he, his friends, Metal Sonic, and even Space Colony Ark itself disappeared into the vortex, which vanished itself.

If one were to look at the stars at the right angle and time. one would see absolutely nothing.

* * *

They were all now in hyperspace, billions of colors streaking passed them like machine gun fire.

"Okay! I admit it! This is crazy! This is _reeeeaaaly_ crazy!" Vector shouted, trying his best keep his balance in the rocking ship.

"THIISSS IIIISSS FUUUUUUNNNNNN!" Big whaled with glee.

"All be danged if I have to die seeing that fat man fly away with _my_ Ark!" Shadow roared.

"I think that's the point, Shadow", Amy responded.

Suddenly, a strange knocking was heard on the roof of the ship, similar to how someone would knock on a door, Knuckles slid open the door of the ship and lookup to see Sonic hanging for dear life on one of the vents. He waved casualy.

"You just have to milk as much fun as possible out o' this, don't you!?" the echidna inquiried, raising his voice to an audible level.

The hedgehog shrugged."I saved some for you, didn't I!?"

"Just shut up and take my hand!" Knuckles said, reaching hand out for Sonic.

Omega's alarm went off."WARNING: ENEMY: NEO METAL SONIC APPROACHING."

Just before Sonic could take his friend's hand, a large metallic one gripped around Sonic's legs.

 _ **"Did you think I didn't know you would go for the ship! I know EVERYTHING you're going to do! STRAAAANGE, isn't it!?"**_ Metal Sonic related before balling his free hand into a fist and bringing it down on the side of Sonic's head, smushing the hedgehog's face against the ship and causing him to let go.

"NOOO!" Knuckles cried as his best friend and worst enemy both faded out of sight.

The ship rocked sideways, causing Knuckles to fall back in.

"Where's Sonic!? What happened to Sonic!?" Amy screamed, her eyes filled with tears.

Another pulse, this time the Ark and all the battle ships around it were gone.

"The same thing that's about to happen to us!" Tails shouted as the ship rattled violenty.

They all screamed, feeling the strain of their very molecules endeavoring to keep themselves stable.

 _ ***FLASH***_

* * *

It was a cold, dark evening. The stars were out, and a middle-aged man was looking at them out the window via telescope.

The middle-aged man's equaly middle-aged wife walked in through the doorway." Are you still messing around with that thing?" she asked abruptly.

"Not now", the man said quickly.

"You've been looking into that old trinket for fifteen years, and you still haven't found anything the world doesn't already know about. Fifteen years! Think of all the home improvement you could've put into all those years! But no, you chose to waste it all looking up a metal tube. I tell you..."

The man tried to ignore his wife's endless nagging as best he could. He knew he was going to find something one day that would blow everybody's mind, including his wife's. And he was right, for tonight was his lucky night: he had just happened to be looking at the right angle at the right time...

"I found something!"

"...and another thing-what?"

"I said I found something. And no, it's not the Moon this time."

The woman zipped to her husbend's side, pushing her face against his. Both eyes (attemted to) look through the telescope to see what appeared to be an enormous stone-like object faze into reality. The couple coudn't believe what they saw.

"Th-this is amazing!" the woman was too stunned to even speak correctly,"W-we have to tell someone! Tell the police! tell the scientist! Tell the astronomers!"

"No!" the man stopped her. They both looked at eachother,"Tell the Firelord."

The couple closed the window, and prepared to take this news straight to the palace.

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	3. Sokka, The Waterbender

**Book Four:**

 _ **Metal**_

 **Chapter Two:**

 _ **Sokka, The Waterbender**_

* * *

The reflection of a flying bison's grey belly displayed itself on the surface of the calm ocean as Appa flew casually toward and nearing Ember Island, carrying the Gaang on his back, minus Zuko, who was still at the Fire Nation's capitol, attending extremely important (but boring) Peace Council meetings. Or Toph, who was currently in Gaoling attending extremely boring (but irrelevant) dinner parties.

"I can't believe we're flying right into Fire Nation territory and there are no flaming hunks of stone hurdling towards us!" began Sokka.

"Sokka, it's been almost three months since we made peace with the Fire Nation," Suki lamented,"Shouldn't you be use to it by now?"

"I am, but it's still kind of amazing when ya think about it. I mean, pretty much everybody on Earth was born into The War; in fact, I bet most people thought it would never end, let alone on the night of Sozin's Comet. I'm sure alot o' old people would agree with me, _right,_ Aang?" Sokka explained, addressing to the chronologicly hundred-and-twelve-year-old manning the reigns on Appa's head.

The Avatar was pullen out of his thoughts."Hm?...d'oh, sure...really unbelievable," he mumbled in a somewhat deflated tone, sinking back into contemplation. It's been two whole days, and the airbender still couldn't get his mind off the meteor. Just what did it mean? And why has nothing else happened since then? Or maybe things have been happening, but on different parts of the planet?

The Water Tribe warrior picked up his reluctance."You aren't still thinking about the eruption, are you? If anything, that meteor was a good thing. If Mount Makapu had that much energy just now, think what would of happened three years later! And I doubt you would've been there then. Now, _all_ the volcano's energy's been expelled, which means it won't go off again for like, ever."

"So, you are admitting the possibility that Mount Makapu _would have_ erupted three years fron now?" Katara inquired her brother sharply.

Sokka also heard this."Oh, come _on_ , Katara, I'm not even going to justify this. It was only a matter of time before Aunt Wu slipped up, I'm just glad we both finally got to see it for ourselves."

"Do you know what you've done?!" Katara yelled, spinning her head to her brother,"Because of you, _no one_ believes her anymore! Maybe you should think what happens when Aunt Wu actually does forsee something terrible, and everybody ignores her all because of one little fluke!

Sokka sighed."Suki, back me up here."

The Kyoshi Warrior shrugged."I don't know what to tell you, Sokka, That meteor was way too inconvenient for a coincidence. Maybe there actually is something wrong with the universe?" She proposed.

Sokka was flabbergasted by his girlfriend's sudden betrayl. He turned to his best friend."Aang?"

"That wasn't supposed to happen," the Avatar replied flatly.

The warrior was now desperate"...m...Momo?"

The bat lemur immediately crawled off of Sokka's shoulder and curled into Katara's lap.

The waterbender stroked his back, making sure her brother saw it.

"...Well, who cares what a lemur thinks?" Sokka mumbled, crossing his arms. He would have asked Appa for support, but he perferred not to swim the rest of the way.

 **Later that day...**

Sokka found himself wandering aimlessly around the shopping discrict of Ember Island, hoping to find something of interest for Suki, though he knew it was pointless, aparently since she and all of his friends - including Momo - held malice toward him for doing what was a good thing in his eyes, but he shrugged it off. The young warrior thought he might as well purchase someting while he was out. He saw a cabbage cart not too far away.

"One cabbage please," he requested indiferently, looking the other way.

"Here ya go," replied a deep, shady voice, followed by a large muscular hand holding a cabbage.

"Thanks," Sokka said, taking the cabbage and reaching into his pocket money, when suddenly the boy froze as his brain fully registered the familiar voice.

"CHIT SANG?!" he screamed, spinning his whole body in the direction of the large man wearing an apron.

Chit Sang also paused as he recalled the voice."Hey, it's you, from the Boiling Rock! _Soka_ , right?"

"...It's _Sokka_ , actually..." he replied; he always found it irritating someone mispronounced his name,"Anyway, I can't believe they gave you a full pardon! Even after we helped you escape!"

"...Uh, yeah, a full pardon, that's it..." the ex-con sheepishly confirmed, looking in multiple directions,"And I got a job, too! Some old merchant hired me to sell his cabbages for him, figured my luck would be better than his," he explained,"So, I heard your dad took out a whole bunch o' airships during the Comet, crashed 'em all into eachother."

Sokka attained a quizzicle expression."Wait a second, that was me!" he cried,"I mean, sure, I couldn't of done it without Toph or Suki, but it was still myidea!"

Chit Sang seemed surprised to hear this."Seriously? Huh, well, I guess ya can't believe everything they tell ya. So, does that mean it was your dad that smeared that fortune teller?" he inquired.

Sokka's jaw unhinged."Oh, COME. ON! Is that the only thing I'm known for? Being a jerk?!" he whaled, flinging his arms in the air, though this somehow seemed to cause a deep look of surprise on Chit Sang's face."I do _all_ the brain work and come up with _all_ the plans that almost _always_ work, just so they can push me aside show off!" he contintinued to flail his arms around. Chit Sang was still focused on the tendrils of water in the fountain behind Sokka copying his every hand movement."I wouldn't have such a problem with it if they _thanked_ me for all the chores I'm stuck with, but all I get is giggles and a buncha' condescending jokes about the guy who doesn't have any special powers! I used to have a sword, ya know? It was made from a meteorite! It could cut through solid steel and everything! But, of course, I lost it in a forest during the assult on the airship fleet, which was _my idea_ , my I remind you! I tried to get somebody to help me look for it, but really, who gives a batwolves' tail about a sword that can cut through solid steel; as long as as it's something of _mine_ , right?...ARE YOU EVEN PAYING ATTENTION?!"

Chit Sang was brought out of focus."Huh? Oh, sorry, I just never took you for a bender."

Sokka cocked his eyebrow."You really weren't listening, were you? I'M _NOT_ A BENDER! WHY DO YOU THINK NO ONE APPRICIATES ME?!"

The ex-con pointed behind him. Sokka turned to see a pair of liquid tentacles rising out of the fountain behind him. Naturally, this perplexed the young warrior; he waved his right arm rapidly, and the right tentacle followed. This just irritated him further.

"Very funny, Katara," Sokka dismissed it, however, his sister did not appear."Aang?" he tried again, still no answer."...GranPakku?" one last time. That usually got to the old master, but there was still no one there. Sokka dashed around the fountain, dropping the cabbage; definatly no one. The young warrior could only turn back to the water in the fountain. Still in disbelief, he raised one hand; a mass of water immediatly rised up and mirrored it. Sokka made a series of random finger poses which the water mimicked. He then let his arm go limp, and still to his shock, the water plopped back into the fountain. Could it be? Was Sokka actually...usefull?

At this point, only one thought penetrated the Water Tribe boy's lips."...I'm...a waterbender..." he whispered,"I'm a WATERBENDER!" he yelled, throwing his arm in the air, causing the water to splash everywhere. He ran back over to Chit Sang and hugged him."Thank you, Chit Sang! I don't no what you did, but it helped me to find my inner bender! I got to go tell Katara!" he resoluted, darting off for the beach.

While Chit Sang hadn't the faintest idea of what occured, he still felt as though he actually did something good for once as he leaned against the cabbage cart, tilting the other way under his own weight. He quickly stopped the cart before it fell over."Whew! That was a close one!" he noted,"I was one wrong move away gettin' fired! I gotta be more carfull nextime," he thought aloud as he pushed the cart to a different spot. Little did he know, the ex-con was getting a raise.

 **Meanwhile, at the beach...**

The rest of the Gaang, along with many other residents, were taking advantage of a sudden heatwave for some beachtime fun. Katara was surfing the waves on an ice board, Suki was helping children construct a proper sand statue of Avatar Kyoshi, and Aang and his animal guide Appa were reclining on the sun-warmed sand, not disturbing anyone.

Katara _whoo-hoo_ 'ed and laughed as she skidded to a hault before the young nomad."Aang, come on! The water's not even cold!" she chimed, calling for him, but as the Water Tribe girl got closer, her smile faded. A closer inspection of the Avatar's reclining displayed that it was one of anxiety, not content. He was staring at the sky, awaiting a disaster to present itself.

"Aang..." she sighed, walking over to and sitting down next to him.

"I can't help it, Katara," Aang replied,"The cosmic order has been compromised. Even _if_ it's nothing bad, I just know this isn't the end of it..."

"Just because something happened to the universe, doesn't mean that it's broken," Katara comforted him, but Aang was engrossed in his own thoughts.

"Maybe it's because you brought me back to life after the fight at Ba Sing Se..." he considered, right before springing to his feet,"Quick! Katara! Kill me!"

"AANG, CALM _DOWN_!"Katara cried, grabbing a hold of his cheeks,"I am _not_ going to kill you. You're just stressed, like before the eclipse!"

"How can you even be saying this?!" Aang inquired,"Aunt Wu said it herself, and you agreed with her!"

"I know, but you're losing your head over something that could be good! What I'm saying is, is that sometimes..." she swallowed,"Aunt Wu can be wrong too," she choked, a small part of herself perishing in the proccess.

Aang noted her sacrifice."You know, you're right," he smiled,"That thing in space probably won't do anything for a long time. I guess as long as nothing else weird happens, the universe should be just fine."

Suddenly, Sokka slid to a hault behind Aang."Guys! You're not gonna believe it! I'm...a _waterbender!_ "

The young Avatar blinked, then plopped back to the sand."The universe is broken...We're all gonna die...All hail the Phoenix King..." he chanted, curling into a fedal position.

"Sokka, don't you think you've ruined enough reputations for _one week_?" the waterbender inquired angryly, dispite the fact that she had just contradicted herself.

"Now Katara, I know this is the fourth time I've claimed to be a bender, but I am _completely_ without doubt this time," Sokka began.

"...thus marking this moment as the second time you claimed that you were _'absolutly certain this time'_ ," his sister mocked, quoting him from last time.

The self-proclaimed waterbender's eyelids lowered; he sighed."Fine, I knew I was gonna have to prove it anyway," he accepted, walking close enough to the ocean as the tide grazed his feet. He then assumed a mock waterbender pose."Let us see how well you can look down on me when you're _sopping wet_."

Sokka pulled his hands back, facing the ocean, and with a loud "Whappaaaa!" that caught everyone's attention including Suki's, thrust his palms forward, hoping to pummel his skeptical sister with a huge palm of water. Alas, the only result accompanying this action was silence, and the shaking of said sister's head.

Sokka seemed more taken than at the fountain."What?! That's impossible! It worked before!" He whined, attempting it again.

"Did Sokka just try to waterbend?" asked Suki to Katara.

"Yeah, I wish he would just give it up," the real waterbender explained, with her brother in the background displaying his stubborness,"It not the first time, though; in fact, last week, he 'could have swarn' he was a firebender. The reason behind that is best left a-" she was interrupted by a wave of water, rendering her, Suki, and Aang saturated."...mystery?"

Their heads turn to Sokka, the only logical source."Oh yeah! 'Only waterbender in the Southern Water Tribe' my foot!" he cried, initiating a victory dance.

"I'm glad he's not a _firebender_ ," noted Suki. Aang, however, had a different take.

"Sokka, this isn't a time for victory dancing," he tried,"the laws of physics have shifted out of phase. Next thing you know, Suki will start earthbending, Momo will be crowned Lemur Lord, Appa will be able to talk!" he announced, clearly overrreacting,"I've already seen what that's like. And I can assure you, it's _not_ pretty." Even Appa stared at his master quzzicly.

"Yeah, that does seem evident. Unless..." Suki thought,"Could it really be? I thought it was just myth but..."

"What? What's a myth? I demand that you tell me!" commanded Aang of the Kyoshi Warror.

"Well, this is just a theory, but Sokka might have what is called _Temporary Non-Bender Syndrom_ ," she explained,"The theory is that a select few benders are born mentally unable to bend, which leads most to believe that they can't bend. But, around the age of fifteen and/or sixteen, their phychological handicap is grown out of, and they can bend."

" _I'm_ around the age of fifteen and/or sixteen!" Sokka remembered, then attemting pull out from the vast ocean a tailed ball of water, similar to the basic waterbending exercise."Of course! That explains how you could bend even though you were born _after me!_ Science prevails once again! That's two-for-two, counting _previous events_."

Katara's brow twitched; she wasn't letting this hit the ground without a fight, or rather, a duel.

"Well, it looks like you were special after all, big brother of mine," she congradulated, feighning her usual upbeat attitude,"And it looks like you're pretty good, too. But, one can only wonder, just _how good_ are you?"

The newly-realised waterbender let the large drip splatter on the sand as he heard this."Ugh, I dunno, pretty good, I guess. What are you getting at, Katara?" he slowly asked her.

An edgy smile spread across the girl's face."Sokka of the Southern Water Tribe, I challenge you...to an AGNI KAI!" She annouced, pointing in dramatic fashion.

"Ugh...We're waterbenders..."

The sound of the splashing tides seemed to increase in volume during this moment of silence.

"...oh... Well, then I challenge you to an...erm... an Aqua Kai!"

"I accept your challenge!" Sokka annouced with equal enthusiasm.

They walked off preparing for combat.

"Well this is an interesting turn of events," observed Suki,"I guess we should make an arena or something..." she ran off to gather supplies for a fence,leaving the young Avatar alone.

"But what if it's _not_ some syndrom?" Aang inquired,"What if somewhere right now, Momo is assembleing an army of primates to conquer the world?!" he tried one last time, but it was too late. Aang sighed, hoping it really was just Temporary Non-Bender Syndrom.

A moment later, Momo crawled on to the scene wearing the hat he stole from a Fire Sage and a beach towel tied around his neck like a cape. Aang noticed this, causing him to balk in fear.

 **Later that afternoon...**

Sokka and Katara each stood on an offshore rock separated twenty feet by ocean. Suki and Aang had erected a fence on the beach to serve as a boundry for the on-lookers witnessing the duel.

The sibling were ficsated on eachother, paying little mind to even the waves that splashed against the rocks, sprinkling them with droplets.

 _It begins. . ._

Katara punches straight forward, sending a spear of water blasting towards Sokka.

Sokka shoots out his left hand, swings left, blocking Katara's attack, re-directing the water around him, swings his hip; and withn the same motion, launches a savage back kick with his left leg.

A massive water missile flies towards Katara, and rather than block, she counters' swinging her right arm into a brutal downward slice, sending the water searing past her, back into the seas. . .

She regains momentum, spins back a step with hand folded over into circular pattern, a whirl pool of water forming in the gap; she spin forward a step sending an orb of water tearing through air

with the brutality of a canon ball, and the furiosity of an orca.

The beast races towards its prey; but somehow, this "prey" is feelin' lucky today. . .

Sokka sprints on the ocean surface towards Katara with un-natural speed, knocks the liquid canon ball aside with a bit too much ease, grabs water missle, spins in mid dash, and hurls the now water-spear

with the might of javelin thrower. Katara claps her hands together to form a water shield which blocked the the water spear, but not dense enough to block the flying stomp kick which narrowly misses Katara as she leaps to the right; Sokka lands on the rock with enough force to shake the algae off. . .

"Wow, that didn't even hurt!" Sokka exlaimed, momentarily suprise at both his new found physical strength and aggressive tactics; and his mistake: his back was turned.

He sees a suggestion of a quick movement on his right...

He just barely misses Katara's counter attack: a water whip narrowly missing the top of his head as he leaps within her attack.

 _Too fast_

He shoots out his right fist, aimed for the nose, which Katara blocks and knocks aside with her left hand, preparing to counter with a right jab. . .which never even comes close to landing. . .

With unatural speed, his left palm in a brutal upper arch, a geyser of ocean water following and sending Katara flying into the air and then landing into the ocean. . .

The spectators are speechless. . .Sokka is too.

The power in the attack was like nothing he had ever seen, let alone anything he could ever hope to accomplish against the fight art of the north. . .

Then his thoughts went back to his sister. _Was she alright? It was just a duel. He didn't want to attack with that kind of force. . ._

Sokka's concern for Katara intensified and when he saw the bubbles in the water. . .

"Katara!" Sokka shouted, but there was no answer. Well, no peacful one anyway. . .

Suddenly, Katara pounced out of the surface and tacled her brother, knocking them both back underwater.

The audience remained silent, waiting for something to cut through the haze of tension...

Their patience payed off when a hump of water burst open, blasting out a screaming Katara over their heads, and into the sand-Kyoshi that Suki built.

"Aww..." The Kyoshi Warrior moaned, along with the children whom she had helped.

A moment later, Sokka popped to the surface as well. He dragged himself out of the ocean, leaned on the fence and took deep breaths, indicating that he was just drowning a moment before. The boy was welcomed by a thunderous applaud from the spectators."SOO-KKA!...SOO-KKA!" they chanted.

He looked up in confusion."Wait, I _won_?" Sokka asked with emphasis on "won".

" 'Won' ? You blew her away; literaly!" Suki confirmed, gesturing to the destroyed sand statue.

"Can I freak out now?" Aang asked, hoping it was okay.

Katara forced herself up, spitting some sand out."He _**what**_?" she inquired as she got up and stomped over to Suki."That's impossible! I was choking you, and then you were unconscous, and I was gonna save you but... I don't know, the water just came to life and threw me onto the shore!"

"Pfft', _suure_ , the ocean spirit just felt sorry for me and decided to _come to my rescue_..." Sokka mused, ever sarcastic. He hopped over the fence."You just can't take the fact that you were just out-bended by someone other than an old master..." he told his sister off to her face, then walking away.

The Water Tribe girl tried to contain her rage, though it was still seeping out, similar to Iroh's teapot." _Oh, well_ , seeing as how you're so awsome and all, I guess I don't have to teach you a stinkin' _thing_ about waterbending!" she announced.

"As if I was going to ask..." Sokka replied," Which reminds me...Aang, do you think you could show me a few pointers?" he requested.

The Avatar raised finger in protest, but it went limp as he was aware it was pointless. He knew it best if he'd simply let it flow down the river like that guru said."Sure, come on," he said, motioning for his new student to follow.

 **Later that evening...**

The two were performing the basic waterbending exercise, manipulating a large drip back and forth in an outline an ellipse.

"Very good, Sokka, I'm not going to lie, you're really exceling at this," complemented Aang to his pupil.

They bended the drip back into the pot.

"Yep, I guess I'm just a natural; like Azula, only...less crazy," Sokka responded while stretching.

Aang frowned."You know this is only temporary, Sokka. After the universal balance is restored, everything's going to be the way it was before, with you being normal and all..." he reminded.

Sokka stopped stretching, and looked down."Yeah..." he blinked and looked at his master,"But if it means we get to save the world again, I'm totally okay with that."

"Really? You'd make that sacrifice? I thought you hated not being able to blow stuff up."

" I was never really a blow-stuff-up-kinda' guy," he assurred Aang,"Besides, once I finally get Zuko to send a search party for my boomerang, I won't need to."

"What about your space sword?" Aang inquired.

Sokka shrugged."Eh, that was just a faze."

"Right, well, it's getting late. We should probably head home," Aang said.

"Yeah, we should go now. It's best if this whole bending thing doesn't get to my head," Sokka agreed, following the Avatar back inside.

 **Later that night...**

The new-found waterbender slithered throughout the town, making sure no one saw or heard him in the dead of night. He had his back against an ally wall, poking his head around the corner, scanning the empty plaza; there was no sign of move ment other than the ripples in the fountain. He grinned.

For Sokka, this was truly a once in a liftime opportunity; he wasn't sure when the universe was going to fix itself so he resoluted to make the most of it.

He crawled to the edge of the fountain, slowly raised above and looked at the water. He turned in all directions before carrying out his resolution.

 _"Alright, Water, prepare to be bendafied"_ he whispered, wiggling his fingers.

Sokka slowly pushed his hands forward, and to his relief the water obeyed.

 _"Yeah, that's the ticket, Water, push and pull, push and..."_

Suddenly, the water came higher than Sokka ment for it to.

"Whoah there, Water, not too fast, we don't want to make alot o' noise..."

In a striking display of disobedience, the water quickly rose to eye-level, prompting Sokka to fall on his behind.

"Uhh, okay, Water, time to stop moving now; I'm not bending you anymore," Sokka reminded nervously, backing further as the water crawled out of the fountain on its own and torward the terrified warrior.

To Sokka's horror, the blob of liquid began to assume a solid shape, forming a pair of clawed hands, along with a pair of clawed feet about the same size. Afterwards, what resembled a brain materialized at the peak of the now huminoid form.

"Water?" Sokka squeaked as he stared into the green glowing eyes of the god of destruction himself: Chaos 0.

 **. . .**

A shrill, girly shreik penatrated the peacful barrier of the island.

The wanabe waterbender found himself running for his survival, screaming almost inhumanly loud for any sort of savior.

"AAAAANG! KATAAARAAAA! SUUUKIII! MOOOMOOOOO! SWEET MOTHER OF SEAL JERKY, SOMEBODY HELP MEEEE!

Out of nowhere, Sokka's predator landed right in his path, causing him to slide to a stop, almost falling down, and speed off to the creature's left, still screaming.

"WHAAAAAHH!"

Sokka didn't care where he was running, or what exactly he was running from, his only thought was to get as far away from it as possible; but that was his second mistake...

It was too late before the young warrior realized he had just stopped at the edge of a narrow cliff, with sharp rocks at the bottom ready to impale anyone stupid enough come too close.

As he turned, he saw the beast standing a mere twenty feet away, his lifeless green eyes luminating the darkness.

"Alright, universe, I get it!" Sokka announced, looking at the sky and backing further from the monster,"I promise I won't tamper with you anymore if you spare my life! Besides, I'm the Avatar's best friend; think about it! If you kill me, then Aang will never try to fix-" his pleading was cut short as his backing heel rested on nothing, causing him to slip off the cliff and plunge to his death.

Or so he thought, before a liquid arm extended over the edge and caught the screaming warrior by the shin and pulled him back above the cliffside.

"What the..." Sokka observed as the silent creature dropped him onto his back. Sokka was simply stared up in awe. Wasn't this the monster that chased him around the island? And, on equally important note, Sokka also observed the creature's concerned expression as it cocked its head to the right.

 _"Sokka!"_ called several faint voices.

Sokka and Chaos turned to the direction of the voices.

Suddenly, Chaos melted into the dirt, completely gone by the time Sokka's sister, girlfriend, and best friend showed up, panting.

"Sokka! Are you hurt!?"Suki asked, helping her boyfriend up.

"Suki! Well, no, but you're not gonna believe what..."

"Why were you screaming?" Aang interupted,"There's probably not a single person on this island who's still asleep because of you!"

"Well, I was kinda about to explain before you..."

"Lemme' guess:" Katara interjected,"You were out here practicing some more waterbending tecniques, when suddenly you slipped off the edge of the cliff, hanging on for dear life while screeching like a swamp owl."

"Not exactly; see, there was this..."

"How could you be so stupid!?" Aang inquired,"Do you know how many fountains we passed on the way here!?"

"Look, I'll be more than happy to tell you if you just..."

"I can't believe you made us run half-way across town in our _underwear!_ " Katara groaned, stomping off.

"Thanks, Sokka, now I'm going to wake up tomorrow with dark circles under my eyes! _unbelievable_..." Aang muttered as he followed Katara.

Suki sighed, laying her hand on Sokka's shoulder."Look, Sokka, I'm really happy that you've found something significant about yourself. But please, don't scare me like that again," the Kyoshi Warrior voiced, then she walked away, leaving the baffled male warrior to himself.

"GUUUYS! You didn't even give me a chance! There was this...and then he...dah _whatever_..." Sokka himself grumbled, too tired to even speak. After all, who wouldn't be out of breath after screaming the way he did?

He followed his friends back to the royal cottege. He'd figure this out in the morning...

 **The Next Day...**

It was almost noon, and he still couldn't figure it out as he made his way across the street, thinking the route he took while fleeing might jogg his memory of anything specific; though this process only hoped to augment his wonder. The "former" waterbender was still confused as to what just happened in summarized form.

Why did that what-ever-it-was save his life shortly after chasing him all over the town? Why didn't it eat Sokka when it first saw him? Or better yet, why would such a creature lead everyone to believe that Sokka in peticular was a born waterbending prodigy, even helping him defeat his sister in an unfair fight, save him from drowning, and _then_ try to eat Sokka, only to save him a second time, and disappear just before his friends could see it and realize the truth?! It's as if the thing was doing this on purpose!

There was little doubt in the teen's mind that this must have been a result of the "destructive entity" that Aunt Wu was babbling about, _But why me?!_ , Sokka thought, _Why not someone who deserves it, like Ozai or Hahn?! I mean I did date the Moon once, but just once!_

It was just a second or two later before Sokka heard, or rather felt, a strange ringing in his ear. He turn in multiple directions for a source; no one seemed to detect it but him.

There it was again, this time from an actual direction: this was chance.

He dashed in path of the noise, intent on finding the what-ever-it-was on the other side.

 **. . .**

It was a minute or two before Sokka grew tired of all the running. When he did, he realized he was at the front yard of Zuko's royal summer home - the one he came out of this morning - with the pulsating ringing persisting somewhere behind it.

His eyes bugged out."Of ALL the places...!" he resented before scrambling in frustration into the house.

Sokka zipped from room to room, open every door, blowing down every hall, hoping to see some kind of something at every unchecked area; but sadly, every single division of the so-called "cottege" retained one characteristic in common: they were all empty.

The warrior, finally exasperated by all the recent physical activity, eventually rationalized that his was currently the only living thing that resided within the complex of a house as he limped into the kitchen (coherently the last room the search), got a glass of water, and sat down at the table.

As he took a sip, he could only reflect on what an astonishing turn of events this was for him. One minute, Sokka is mopping the sand with his sister's face in a duel; the next, he's at the bottom of the bending chain once more, and he's hopping all over the island like an idiot, struggling to decipher a supernatural enigma that _should_ _be_ the Avatar's business. But alas, Sokka had to face facts: he wasn't the one who defeated or even took on Katara in the first place; that thing was. And Sokka could only wonder, just what was that thing? It was then that the teen warrior had an epiphany: Aang was troubled because reality was supposedly tearing apart os something like that. What if somehow, Bending itself has gained a life of its own? And that this creature was born within his subconsciousness, his immortal desire to become significant over his own baby sister? Sokka then considered the possibility of some sort of metal fire bending monster, with long bird-like legs, glowing yellow eyes, and a strange metal tube for a right arm, probably for shooting fireballs...kind of like the one in the reflection of his water, standing right behind him.

 **"** **Where is the Chaos Emerald?** **"**

 **Meanwhile...**

Aang, Katara, and Suki were out having lunch with Fire Lord Zuko and Mai, with Katara telling them about there weekend.

"...and I blow out the candle, right? And all of a sudden, I open my eyes to this inhuman schreech that sounded almost like..."

The entire island echoed with another high-pitch shriek.

"...Like that?" Mai inquiried.

* * *

Sokka had his back to the wall as the alien monster inched toward him, the miniature cannon pointed at his head."Oh, come on! Shouldn't you be chasing Mai around or something?!" he protested in a less than masculine tone.

 **"** **Where is the Chaos Emerald?** **"** The monster repeated, unnatural and monotone.

The teen began to sweat heavily."Look, I'd be more than cooperative enough to help you find this special emerald you're talking about; but, here's the thing, I kinda don't know what that is. I did, however, happen to pass a jewelry store on the way here; they might have what you're looking for in stock. I could give you directions if you like..."

A pink light replaced the darkness within the monster's tube-hand. Although, unbeknownst to them both, the kitchen faucet mysteriously pumped itself to life.

"I agree, directions are overrated; I was always more of a map person myself..." Sokka stalled, though he knew this was his final hour whether Aang made it in time or not. The young warrior new it best to simply close his eyes so he wouldn't see it coming...

The noise that followed however was not one that he prepared for: what he assumed would sound like an explosion preceding an abrupt silence sounded more akin to the puncturing of a metallic object, followed by a bizzare buzzing. Overcome by pure curiosity, Sokka opened his eyes and paled at the sight.

The monster's head hung downward, and the last thing it saw was a liquid but contradictingly solid tip of claw jutting out from its chest, the wound crackeling with electricity.

Chaos 1 held lifeless hunk of metal in his paw, and turned his attention to Sokka.

After a brief pause between the two, the the former waterbender's eyelids drooped."I ask again:...WHAT _THEE_?!" he demanded.

Physically unable to answer, the creature merely walked out of the kitchen, dragging the motionless machine with it, leaving moist footprints behind him.

"Wait! Where're you going?!" Sokka inquiried, following the footprints.

The teen pursued his "bending" out into the back yard, where he witnesses the thing leap up high in the air and down onto the royal private beach.

"Oh no, ya don't!" he declared.

Chaos 1 touched down on the soft, grey sand, and treked just at the edge of the tides. It winded back, and flung the red machine into the sea.

Rather than run, Sokka decided to take his time down the steps to the beach, where he caught sight of the creature, staring deeply and contemplatively into the horizon, his larger right arm lifted slightly. He sighed.

"Look," he panted,"I already know you can't talk, but could you at least gimme some hand signs as to what's going on?" he pleaded, though the silent creature paid no mind to him. Sokka took advantage of the silence to observe his "bending's" more specific physical features. The boy got a better look of the creature's brain, which to him was more uncanny to the likeness of a potato - Sokka wondered if everyone's brain looked like that - not to mention that unevenly large right arm - the only appendage that seemed to have bones - which the beast had elavated to around the height of Sokka's mid-section, slowly flexing his fingers open and closed. Now that he noticed it, there did appear to be a strange white fosforesence that resided within the palm. Sokka walked causiously went in for a closer inspection; and that's when he saw it: a luminous ivory jewl partialy incased inside the bone.

"Whoah...that's what that thing was looking for, wasn't it?...the Chaos Emerald..." Sokka realized, gaining the creature's attention.

The entity's pure green eyes were locked on to the young warrior's blue irises for a moment, but they soon reunited with the sea.

Why Chaos had befriended this random human he couldn't quite explain, even if he did have the capacity to speak. It may have been, Chaos supposed, that the boy reminded him of his Chao bretheren, given that like a Chao, he was very small and even more so helpless; also, the boy's voice was on a noticably higher level of pitch than most humans he had encountered so far. But that was of little importance as of now. As the mutated Chao gazed upon the noexistent point between sky and ocean, the truth was unshakable: _he_ would come looking for this emerald, Chaos's escape was the only thing that rented limitless power from his grip. Chaos had only managed to steal one, but one out of seven made all the difference, and he was going to make sure it stayed that way, even if the sacred jewel is lost forever.

Suddenly, the jewel's glow intensified, prompting Sokka to shield his eyes. Just when he thought things could get weirder, the creature began to shrink in stature, the bone in his arm dissolving. by the time Sokka could see clearly, the creature retained all his characteristics, aside from the fact that his arms were evenly proportioned, and he was now only as tall as Sokka was (minus the horn).

Chaos 0 then pulled his arm back, and hurled the emerald far out into the ocean, where it sank to the depths, hopefully never to be found again.

As Sokka witnessed this, one core question hummed within his cerebrum; it was a question he'd been wanting to get off his chest for a while now: "I...was never a waterbender to begin with, was I?" he asked timidly.

Chaos turned back to his new aquatance, now wishing he was able to vocalize an apology for mentally labeling him as small, though he was still very helpless.

Sokka took that as a yes, looking down at the sand; he figured as much. Though soon after, he smiled."...Well, thanks for making me feel special for a day," he said, holding out his hand to shake.

Chaos simply nodded.

"Sokka, You better not be crying wolfbat again...!" cried the angry tone of Sokka's sister.

Chaos immediately dissolved into a puddle in the sand.

Sokka whipped around as his friends ran again to his aid, only to see nothing but Sokka.

"I knew it, I _knew_ it! He did it again!" Katara raved, swinging her fists downward and stomping.

"Wha-what? But-" Sokka would have point to the liquid monster to his right...if it were still there...which he just noticed wasn't."Oh come on! This again!?"

"Well, how do you expect us to react!?" Aang asked, "First, you scare half to death in the middle of the night, and then, you interrupt Brunch! Why Brunch of all times, Sokka!? What did brunch ever do to you!?"

"No, no-wait, lemme expla-" Sokka tried.

"Well, the kitchen table was flipped over, so maybe it fell on his foot and that's why he screamed?" Suki asked.

"How did he flip over an entire table on his own foot by accident?" Mai inquired.

"Guys, could you plea-"

"Oh, _believe me,_ he finds a way..." Katara slouched with a dreary expression.

"GUUUYYSSS!" Sokka thundered, finally gaining their attention. "It wasn't the table, it was another metal monster!"

The group gasped together.

Sokka, sighed happily, as he was relieved that they were finally done cutting off-

"WHAT!?" Aang bugged out.

"Another one!?" Mai asked.

"How are you still alive!?" Katara demanded.

"Are you sure it wasn't the same one!?" Zuko blurted.

"OHMYGOSHOHMYGOSHOHMYGOSH-ARE YOU OKAY!?" Suki freaked out.

"WILL YOU SHUT UP!?" Sokka roared, the veins of his face pulsating. " _Yes_ , another one, and _yes_ , this one was definitely different - it was red, more bird-like, and had a canon for hand! And YES, I'm OK! I was just in the kitchen drinking a glass of water, when that thing came out of nowhere and nearly blew my head off before-!" Sokka then froze, fully aware of the implications of telling them the rest.

The group was held in suspense.

"...'before'...?" Mai rolled her hand, expecting him elaborate.

"Before you totally destroyed it with you awesome bending!" Suki finished for him, pumping her fist high."Right, Sokka?"

"dwahuh?" Sokka stumbled, staring at his girlfriend.

At this, Zuko turned to Sokka with deep curiosity."Is it true, Sokka? Are you really more powerful than Katara?"

"Just shove it up my nose, why don't you!?" Katara barked with her arms crossed, acting almost like Sokka herself.

The teen warrior's brain squeaked with tension. Now that he knew for sure he wasn't a waterbender, what was he supposed to do now? Was he really going to maintain the lie of him being some late-blooming prodigy just so he could feel more useful to the team?

"uuuummmmmm...yeah, so about the bending..." he raised his finger to explain.

Just then, the puddle to his side suddenly arose from the ground, in the exact instant Sokka lift his finger.

Zuko and Mai were both stunned.

"Woah, did you do that without even trying?" Mai had to asked, genuinely taken off guard.

Sokka's mouth gaped at the liquid testicle - was this thing _still_ keeping up the act!?

"See, what did I tell you? He's amazing!" Suki beamed.

Sokka waved his hand to and fro, the creature mirroring it. Yeah, it was still doing it. But why? Why does it keep hiding from his friends? Just then, a thought occurred on Sokka's mind: maybe it was actually trying to hide from those two metal things. Could there be more of them? Were they coming from that round pointy thing Aang saw in his dreams? (Sokka still couldn't wrap his mind around the concept). If that's the case, it makes sense for the creature to keep a low profile. Maybe that ringing noise was to lure the creature out, and Sokka got in the way. It would definitely attract more attention to itself if others knew about it, so maybe disguising itself as soneone's water bending would throw the pursuers off.

"...Umm, Sokka...you did destroy the machine, right...?" Aang wanted to clarify.

Yeeep, if his reaction last night was anything, his friends definitely aren't ready to meet Sokka's new water buddy. He would just have to play along until the creature itself was ready to come out in the open.

"duh...did I destroy the machine...?" Sokka repeated.

His friends looked rather anxious.

Sokka's confused expression instantly shifted into the cockiest of smirks." 'Destroy' doesn't even _describe_ what I did to that thing!"

His friends smiled excitedly (but his sister could only grow more annoyed).

"You could not _believe_ the immeasurable amount of _carnage_ that took place on this very beach! I mean, it was a total water-on-metal _massacre_! That thing thought it had 'poor helpless Sokka' right where it wanted him; well, I guess he forgot to check the local news this mornin', cause boy-oh-boy he found out the hard way that Sokka ain't so helpless no more! WAPPAAA!" he cried, as he performed a perfect water whip.

His friends laughed and clapped for him as he went on.

"And when I say 'hard', I mean Hard. As. Nails! I got him so hard, even Toph would've told me to stop...!

* * *

What none of them were aware of, was that they were being watched from a window to another world - the Spirit World. It was a dark, dry, dead cave of silk webs and bones. A black elongated slinked closer to the window.

 _"Hyah! Woosh! Ka-Snap! Kung Pow chicken!"_ it watched the boy prattled on about its false victory against the unknown being.

"Foolish humans...your reckless ways have doomed us all..." the it's massive single pair of eyelids blinked as it stared.

 _*FLASH*_

* * *

 **Please Review!**


	4. Character Select

**Character Select**

* * *

Wind swept through the empty forest.

 _"ggurrh...wuz goin' on..."_ maundered the lethargic echidna, stirred by the sudden breeze, causing him to turn over, slip off of, immediately come to (with notable alarm), and latch on to with one hand the branch he had been sleeping on.

Knuckles sighed with relief, then looked down to see a twenty foot drop below him.

"How the heck did I get up here?" he blurted out. Then it all came back to him...

The robots, the ARK, the black hole, but more importantly...

"SONIC!" Knucles exclaimed, swinging himself away from the other branches in order to touch down on the earth. He then scanned his surroundings.

It was daytime, first off; the sun leaned to the side significantly, so it was either morning or the late afternoon - it felt like morning, so he went with that. As for his enviornment, the echinda was surrounded by countless bare trees, which he found odd. It was in fact autum last time he checked, but one would at least expect to see piles of dead leaves at this point in the fall season. Upon closer inspection, he realized the truth...

"This forest was burned," he vocalized, feeling the charred bark. His expression gained a hint of sorrow; a part of him felt deeply sorry for all the animals that had to leave their homes during whatever disaster took place here - at least the ones lucky enough to make it out, that is. But Knuckles shook the images away, knowing there were more important things going on than some random forest fire as he stated walking in any other direction: Eggman's got the ARK, whatever he wants with it. And if the he himself is here, his friends couldn't be to far off; well, minus Sonic that is...

He recalled the picture as if it had been five minutes ago. He almost made it to the _Typhoon_ ; he was just a couple feet to the door when...when _he_ showed up, that crazy mecha, it put its own "life" on the line just to get Sonic. He hoped the hedgehog was alright, wherever he is; but if Sonic was alright, _it'_ s probably in good shape too. Boy, couldn't he wait to get his hands on that Metal...

The echidna's vengefull thoughts soon dispersed as he felt the front of his shoe kick something over. He looked down to see a medium-sized sharp object, which his natural curiosity nudged him to pick up.

"What's this thing?" he wondered. It was some kind of bone weapon, painted blue all over, with animal hide stretched around one end of it, probably to enhance grip. The strange thing about the blade was the fact that it was bent almost ninety degrees, which caused the young gardian to inquire as to what kind of idiot would use a weapon like this in combat, seeing as how it pretty much hindered itself by shortening its own slashing range in half. He eventually flung the thing over his shoulder, resuming his walk. He had more important things to do than pace the area scavanging up random...

 ***thwack!***

Knuckles spun around, his fists up, to face his attacker; strangely, though, there was no one there. The echidna looked back down at an awfully eerie sight, picking up the very same object he could have sworn he had just thrown away.

" _What the..._ " he mumbled, his face giving away his confusion. But shrugged it off, his natural echidna reasoning deducing that he may have just tossed it upwards or something. He then pulled back his arm, and made sure to hurl the weird looking blade as far into the sky as he lazily could; he then assumed a position that suggested deep thought. He had no idea where he was, so it would be reasonable to look for higher ground in order to get a superior view of the...

 ***thwack!***

Knuckles stumbled to the side, rubbing the left of his cranium. He froze, slowly sweeping his pupils in the direction of the offender, only to see what forced the fightin' freak to back away in fear.

It was the thingy - the exact same thingy he _knew_ he just threw out of sight mere seconds ago. Multiple thoughts and suggestions bolted all around the dumbfounded echidna's head. It could've been probable at that point that the Knuckles wasn't quite alone as he perceived earlier; that perhaps a mysterious assailent was sneakily retrieving the bone weapon behind the echidna's back, and "returning" it for the sole purpose of annoying him.

Such a hypothesis could be derived; but on the other glove, this barren forest was so quiet, a single belch could probably be heard for miles. Only a ninja could be so discreet, which wold be irrelevent as of now given the fact that ninjas are simply a government hoax. Besides that, he didn't believe Espio would mess with him like that.

In other words, there was literally no explanation pertaining to any form of physics or mathmatics that served to luminate the anomoly before him aside from the possibility that it was... _magic..._

That was it, wasn't it? It had to of been. Somewhere along the lines of whatever, some wizard had become sadisctic enough as to cast a spell on an innocent piece of bone that caused it to turn around in mid-flight and strike whoever dared to throw it.

It seemed a wise action to simply leave the cursed artifact be and get on with his life; but the echidna couldn't help but think of all the people who will one day come across it like he did and throw it out of pure curiosity. And for that matter, who was to say he was the first?

"Better let Tails see this thing..." Knuckles vocalized, hesitantly picking back up, this time making sure not to drop it. The echidna then continued his journey though te dead forest, intent on getting some answers.

* * *

 _"All of you ungrateful humans..."_

 _"Such bravado for a little hedgehog..."_

 _"...will feel my loss and dispair..."_

 _"I gave you life, and yet you defy me?..."_

 _"...took everything away from me..."_

 _"What are you doing, you traitor?..."_

 _"I designed its mind to be perfect; pure..."_

 _"I shall put an end to your foolish attempts to defy me,_ _ **and**_ _your miserable existence..."_

 _"I will leave everything...to him."_

 _"...Are you going to stare out that window all day?"_

His eyes shot open, and was met with a clear firmament of blue. Shadow slowly arose to a sitting position, groaning all the way with his left hand on his forehead, his right stablizing him.

"It's about time, Mr. Relentless," taunted a familiar femenine voice.

Shadow turned up at two o' clock to see Rouge reclining on a branch.

"Morning," she greeted in her usual droll tone, slipping off the branch and landing gracefully on the ground,"I was going to wake you up myself, but I know how cranky you get when there's another sentient organism within a range of ten feet from you..."

Shadow took this time to scan his environment. The black hedgehog had awoken in the middle of a small clearing surrounded by forestry. He sighed again, as apparently, he'd blacked out again. He cursed his amnesia; it was his only flaw, but it was a flaw nonetheless. Shadow wasn't supposed to have flaws; it was the very purpose of his creation - to be perfect, with all the assesment and precision of a supercomputer, and not weighted down by such handicapps as emotions...but he supposed that was his creator's doing as well, given his inevitable plunge into insanity, reprograming his greatest scientific achevement into despising his own speices with passion, biting whole chunks out of the hedgehogs memory so that he remembered only what the doctor wanted him to. It left a permanent scar in his phyche, and he still has yet to uncover how the man did it. Sometimes, he would ponder exactly where the truth ends and the lies begin...especially when it came to Maria...

But, that was the past, and this was now.

"How long?" he finally spoke, reffering to the durration of his comotose.

Rouge shrugged."About two days, at least since I woke up," the bat replied.

"Anything interesting happen?" he inquired, rubbing his head, his eyes shut.

"Not much," she began,"you came down for the weekend, one of the agents had a birthday party, we played a few rounds of _Pin the Knife on the Terrorist,_ saw a couple movies...oh, and Eggman hijacked the ARK..."

The hedgehog's eyelids dissappeared, his cerebrum soaking in all the events of the recent past.

Shadow then walked off, hunched over and growling like a neanderthal.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Rouge inquired.

" _Breakfest_ ," the dark hedgehog replied, dashing away towards a nearby mountain.

The former jewel thief rolled her eyes, flying after her disgruntled partner.

Shadow haulted at the peak of the mountain, which was actually one half of a mountain split down the middle, and scanned the vicinity.

How could he be so foolish? For the ultimate lifeform to actually of been intimidated by that blue idiot's cheap shot at his resiliance that was almost as immature as he was; that he managed to coax him into leaving the ARK, his birthplace and responsibility, on the grounds that the colony was useless in military terms without the Chaos Emeralds which, according to him, were nearly impossible to find. Well so much for that theory...

Rouge finaly made it to him.

"Ya' know, rocketing all the way up here isn't going to solve anything," she landed just below Shadow,"and it certianly isn't easing off the stress from forty-eight hours of looking for you; the least you could do is..."

"Where are we?" Shadow inquired impatiantly.

The interrupted bat sighed."Well, judging from the giant vortex we were sucked into, and all those wierd looking animals I saw on the way here, I highly doubt we're in Kansas," she replied.

Faced with this latest revelation, the ebony hedgehog felt the need to clench his fist, and release a bit of his anger in the form of a Chaos Spear into the other portion of the mountain. A subtle explosion echoed.

"I knew I shoudn't have left the ARK! But no, I had to give in to weakness..." he spat.

"Now hold on a second," now was Rouge's turn to interrupt, whipping in front of the hedgehog,"taking little time off after months of playing 'space-watchdog' isn't weakness, it's just natural..."

"For _you_ , maybe, but for me, it's simply one more bit of evidence that I'm an incomplete experiment. In case you hadn't notice, there's work to be done; so stay out of my way," Shadow finished, leaping over his partner and down the mountain split.

As the all-but perfect being plummeted, he noticed at the bottom of the division a large stone platform, accompanied by a tall set of stairs facing the lake. The stairs lead up to a thin bridge that went into a cave on either half of the mountain. Shadow landed at the top of the stairs. Once again, Rouge touch down behind him.

"You can hop around all you want; I'm not going to leave you alone just because you're alittle miffed," the agent persisted.

Shadow counter-persisted to ignore her.

"Will you wake up, Shadow? I don't care how 'ultimate' you are, this isn't good for your health. Look at you, your voice is hoarse, the red trim on your shoes is all scraped up, and you're twitching - _twitching_ , Shadow."

"I am _not_ twitching," the hedgehog sternly replied, his left ear briefly fluttering a moment later.

"All I'm trying to do is look out for you, whether or not you think you need it. Because unlike a certian high-ranking commander, you're a little more to me than a walking WM-" the bat's ears perked up,"...uh-oh..."

"What now?" the annoyed hedgehog inquired.

"I think I just figured out what this giant shrine is supposed to pay homage to..." Rouge speculated, turning around toward the cave entrance behind her.

A sound _thud_ echoed within the caves, some dust and pebbles chipping off the ceiling of either one, directing Shadow's attention to the cave he was already facing. He slouched, his hands raised, ready for an ambush."Whatever is in there, it's making a big mistake," Shadow declared.

A louder and stronger _thud_ occurred; the "whatever" was getting closer.

"I'm not so sure about that..." Rouge mumbled.

In an instant, two enormeous serpent-like creatures shot out of either cave, immediately unraveling their wings, and swirling around the two in dazzling display of red and blue, creating a typhoon around them with their momentum.

They stopped, and landed on either side of the altar, mirroring eachother as they stared down their prey.

Shadow and Rouge were as stone statues, routing all their energy to prevent the slightest movement that would indefenately be their last...

In another split-second, Shadow shoved Rouge off the altar in one spinning motion, propelling her down the steps before the beasts unleashed two massive blasts of fire, consuming the hedgehog.

The bat could only cover her mouth in horror, as the same spot her partner once stood was now occupied by a blazing tornado of terror.

* * *

A small arc of electricity quickly flickered into and out of reality.

Two more arcs followed.

Several currents bundled around an ever expanding orb of energy until...

 _*FLASH*_

Three screaming figures materialized out of nowhere a landed rather painfully onto the grassy moon-lite field - the largest one fell on his back, while the two others on their faces; silence followed...

"...THAT WAS AWSOME!" Charmy exclamed, jolting back to life,"First we got sucked into a black hole, and then Ray was like _'aaaahhhh!',_ and then Knuckles was like _'noooooooo!',_ and then Shadow was like _'grrrr, I'm mad',_ and all the colors and battleships and..."

 _"What ever happened to that older Charmy?"_ Espio inquired as the bee continued, his face still embedded into the ground.

"I dunno, he said somethin' about movin' on to relestate..." Vector replied, also remaining in his position.

"...and then the- _ooh!_ what's that over there?" the energetic bug changed the subject, his paper-thin attention span forcing him to point to the very next thing his eyes laid upon.

The other two rose up to follow Charmy's finger, though Espio had a more difficult time, breifly struggleing tp remove his horn from the ground, making a noise simmilar to the uncorking of a wine bottle on succsession.

"Wow, wouldya' look at that house..." Vector remarked.

"What manner of manor have we landed on?" Espio wondered aloud.

 _"Hey, who said that?"_ said a distant voice.

 _"It came from over there!"_ declared another.

Soon, two men clad in armored robes holding lanturns ran toward the source of the yelling.

"Who goes there? And how dare you set foot on the Bei Fo...Bei fe...Bei fufo...DRAGON!" the man on the right cried, throwing his finger forward.

Espio chuckled, folding his arms."I know, my intmidating appearance would lead most to assume so; but I assure you, I am but a humble chamelion," he responded smugly.

"I think he was talking about Vector..." Charmy commented.

The "humble" chamelion scoffed."Keh, beleive what you wanna beleive..."

"Thay can speak!" the other guard exclamed,"they must be demons!"

"Now look, fellas', we're not evil spirits, we just wanna know where we are..." Vector began, taking a step forward.

The men went into a stance."Stay back, demon! Don't you move an inch closer!" the left one warned.

"Or else what? You're unarmed!" the super-strong croc reponded quizzicly.

In complete randomness, the two men thrusted their cocked fist upward, causing a catapult of rock to fling Vector and Espio into the sky.

"Hah hah," was Charmy's immediate reaction.

The guards snorted at Charmy.

Noticing this, the bee darted away in the direction his friends were thrown.

The two detectives smacked into a pig pen, splashing mud in all directions.

They groggily hauled themselves up, spitting out of their mouths what they hoped was just wet dirt.

"Could somebody tell me how the heck we ended up in China?" Vector sputtered.

"I don't think..." Espio coughed,"...we're in China..."

"Well I'm pretty sure we're not in Australia..." the crocodile retorted, whiping himself off.

The chamelion copied his partner's action in a more thorough manner."Vector, if we were somewhere in the Far East, wouldn't those guards have spoken some Far Eastern language instead of _perfect English_?" he inquired.

"Easy, we're in China- _Town_ ," Vector deduced, his shorter partner rolling his eyes.

"Ooh, ooh! I know!" Charmy declared on arrival,"what if, we've somehow ended up... _in another dimeeennsiooonnn?_ " he speculated, erie si-fi music playing in the background.

All attention was diverted towards the confused Vector."...Oh! Heh, sorry 'bout that..." the croc responded sheepishly, turning off his walkman.

"That doesn't seem all that improbable..." Espio continued, taking note of the sleeping pigs with bull horns,"we should search for the others, and maybe find some intel on where we actually are," the brains advised, crossing his arms again.

"Aww, why do we have to find them now? I wanna play with the pigs!" Charmy complained.

"Yeah, we better find a place to rest for the night first..." Vector contemplated, stretching his shoulder, soon after wrapping his large arm around the smaller two,"and rest well, my colleages! For tomarrow begins our next big case: _The Mystery of the Caucasian Asians!_ " he announced, pointing nowhere significant cinamaticly.

"...Don't ever say that again..." Espio groaned.

* * *

All was quiet atop the cold, lonely mountain peak.

 _"Sonic!"_

Its only friends the gray, glommy clouds that hovered about; and the erie winds that saturated the peak with its chill.

 _"Amy? Knuckles? Anyone?"_

Neither foul nor beast dare ascend the desolate peak, regardless of seasonal migrations.

 _"Hello? I can't be the only one here. Sonic!"_

And why would they? It wasn't as if they had a home to return to, not after what happened to this place - such has remained unchanged...for over a hundred years.

"Hello!" the fox called, receiving a fourth batchof echoes as he hovered throughout the abandoned temple.

Since he had woken up in this strange monastary, not but five minutes ago, Miles "Tails" Prower had been surveying the mountain for any signs of his friends, as logic would dictate that where ever the fox was, his friends had to be at least in the general area since they were all in the same ship when...well, he wasn't entirely sure of the occurence of what felt like moments earlier, but his optimism was stable to say the least, and the young tinkerer was certian that as long as he held a stiff upper lip that wherever the other Sonic Heroes were, he was bound to run into them, though there was still one more issue at hand:..

"Sonic..." he mumbled, descending onto the edge of a nearby cliffside.

Before being atomized, the fox managed catch sight of Knuckles sharing a breif despute with someone apparently outside the _Typhoon_ , and since Silver and Rouge were already strapped in their seats, there was only one other guess. Moments after, he heard Omega come back online long enough to announce that Metal Sonic was approaching. Knuckles then looked shocked as he fell back in the ship, and Amy demanded what happened to Sonic as she looked like she was about to cry.

Putting the evidence together, Tails concluded that Sonic had somehow climbed against the ship during the anomoly, but was intercepted by a reactivated Metal Sonic shortly after. This was definately a bite at his optimism. What if he was still in limbo? What if he fell back out of the vortex? But that would mean falling back into space, and without the ARK's artificial atmosphere...no, no that could never happen. Sonic was the greatest; he couldn't just lose to Eggman like that, he just couldn't. Sonic always wins, always!

"Always?"

Tails's sad expression dropped; he quickly backed away in fear from the bony old man that was apparently sitting next to him.

"Who...who are you? And how did you know what I was thinking!" he timidly demanded, pointing his shaky finger.

The bushy-bearded elder raised his own."Well, you see, I was reading the...well, anyway, I am Guru Pathic", he answered, his voice baring a thick Indian accent.

The fox lowered his finger."...um...I'm Tails", he replied meekly.

The old man stroked his enormous beard, observing the anthro carefully."You seem troubled. You are not of this universe, are you?" he inquired casually, his smile never faultering.

Tails blinked twice; this conversation wasn't getting any less abnormal."...I don't think so..."

"Interesting, I had my own suspicions of such a thing for a time, but I learned to keep it to myself for fear of rejection from the monks..."

"Monks?" Tails repeated.

"Oh yes, I was a personal friend Monk Gyotso of the Southern Air Temple, which enabled me to learn the ways of his people; I was even granted the title of Honorary Air Nomad, despite me not being a bender myself..."

"Wait, wait a second! I don't even know what you're talking about," Tails interrupted, waving his hands.

Now was the guru's turn to blink twice."...You do not know of the Air Nomads or of benders?"

Tails shook his head.

The elder caressed his chin.I see. So you must nothing of this world..." he realized.

"Well, I _am_ not of this universe..." the fox reminded

The Guru's smile returned."Good point. In that case, we have much to talk about..." he announced, placing his frail, harmless hand upon the fox's shoulder,"Let me start from the beginning..."

* * *

It felt as though the world spun around him. Heat and chill fluctuating throughout his body. There was no bottom, gravity constantly changing. It was like his was hovering between life and death. He strenously pulled his eyes open, catching a squinted glimps of several people in rags; they were all sideways to the left, as well as the horizon. His eyes closed...

...They opened again, This time seeing the evening sky. They closed again...

...They open a third time, seeing the same image as before, this time it was inverted, the people and horizon were leaning perfectly to the right. A colder chill crawled up his spine: was the world really spinning around him?

"H-hey...Where am I?" rang a familiar small voice.

"Amy?" he said, his eyes opening completely. It was only now that Silver realized the truth: the world wasn't spinning - he was, on rotisserie spit over an open flame in fact. "WHERE THE HECK ARE WE?"

He was surrounded by a pack of brutish-looking humans in redish-brown rags and various animal pelts. Some were walking around doing brute-oriented things, some were hanging freshly-made pelts to dry, and one ragged woman was chasing around a bizarre chicken/possum hybrid with a hatchet. Silver and Amy were both tied on opposite sides to a long stick resting above crackling flames; by this point, the situation was painfully obvious.

The man rotating the spit paused."Hey! Dinner can talk!" he blurted out in amazement.

"Heh, won't be talkin' for long..." retorted a husky, middle-aged woman a few steps away, sitting on a rock and sharpening the hook-shaped blade the was apparently hers against somekind of leather. On her left shoulder was what was left of the head of something between a hog and a monkey.

"Oh no, Silver, these people are try to cook us! What're we going to do?" the pink hedgehog cried clichely.

"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do..." the grey hedgehog replied. He then began glowing, and sent a shockwave that simultaneously broke them free, doused the fire, blew the rotating man away, and caught the attantion of the entire camp.

The man stubbornly rose to his feat, taking out his knife."Who said you could break free!" He rushed at Silver with a battle cry, until he was blasted away even further though a couple tents.

"Anybody else wanna' piece of this hedgehog!?" Silver challenged, his arm still raised.

Pretty much every tribesmen in the camp surrounded them, their various weapons sparkeling and their chops licked.

"That came out wrong..." the future hedgehog realized.

"You mean you still wanna eat us after you saw what Silver can do?" Amy inquired in astonishment.

"...hey", one of them had an epiphany,"mabye if we eat them, we'll be able to do that too!" he proposed, the rest of the group yelling in agreement. They charged.

Huffing, Amy took her hammer out of...somewhere... and charged as well. The pink hedgehog battered three savages away one swing at a time; she brought the weapon down on some poor soul's foot, causing him to whale in agony before receiving an upward swing against his chin, sending him flying.

With his pcychokenesis, Silver picked up two tribesmen and slapped them against each other. The grey hedgehog caught a man's dagger in mid-thrust, promting the man to futily pull it out of the hedgehog's telekenetic grasp, which gave Silver more than enough time to blow him away, along with four others.

The chubby woman just sat there, mystified at how one-sided this fight was becoming."Oh, for the love of egg custurd, do I had to kill all the dinner myself?" she complained, tossing aside her hooked blade and unsheathing her new one - an opaque, Fire Nation Jian broadsword. She charged.

Amy turned around just in time to block a swipe from said sword. The woman followed it up with several more."Gah! Silver, help me!"

Silver had two men suspended in the air as turned to see the dilema."Don't worry, Amy, I'll...!...wow, that's a nice sword..."

"Silver, what are you doing?" Amy inquired as she continued to fed for herself, blocking the blows with her hammer.

"No, I'm serious, that's really nice sword, where you find it?" the future hedgehog wondered.

"Found it in a forest somewhere..." the woman replied before executing a thrust which spun away from, causing the two to switch positions."This isn't funny, Silver!" Amy cried.

"Oh come on, Amy, how many solid black swords do see lately? I don't know about you, but in the future, stuff like that is kind of rare. Is it obsidion? It's gotta be obsidion..." by this time, the two men Silver was holding fell to the ground unconcious.

"Well, I'm sure you could find out if you _take it from her!_ " the hedgehogess reminded.

"Oh fine..." Silver mumbled.

The woman pulled back the sword for a nice head-chopping slice before being blasted away at such a speed that the blade breifly floated motionless in the air, all the way into a tree, effectively incapacitating the she-brute.

The sword gracefully floated into the grey hedgehog's hands."Wouldja' look at the craftmanship on this thing..." Silver observed, facinated by his new souviner.

They turned to see the rest of the tribe, charging with their primitive weapons.

"We should probably leave now..." Silver noted, not seeing the point in beating up more helpless cavemen. He hastily ascended to the air, taking the yelping Amy up with him.

The tribesmen slowed down and watched as the two flew off into the sky.

"Aww...but what about dinner?" one asked.

"Hey, it's not my loss: I'm a vegetarian," another brute said with a rather sophisticated flare.

"Nobody cares about your stupid new-age diet, Kulark!"

* * *

 ** _Before the Meteor landed..._**

In mere moments, Space Colony ARK completed its inter-dimensional journey, gradually fazing into the reality of a new universe.

Seconds later, a small shock-wave appeared next to it as a blue orb rocketed away and toward the new earth.

Sonic struggled defiantly, punching his metallic duplicate with all his might, actually making the mecha flinch as he had his huge fingers wrapped around blue hedgehog then kicked Metal Sonic hard in where a jaw would be, the merciless robot's grip finally broken. Though he quickly caught the hedgehog again, spinning around at helicopter propeller speeds. Metal Sonic let go, sling-shotting Sonic across the atmosphere.

Neo Metal Sonic's miniacal laughter echoed all around as the surrounding friction caused him to burst into a blue fireball, resembling a meteor as he continued his high-speed descent.

Sonic soared through the sky at ludicrous velocity. Knowing he was going to hit the ground soon, The azure hedgehog's only option was to curl into a ball and hope he was going to land somewhere soft, and he did land.

 _ ***SPLOOOOWSH***_

* * *

"Whadja' 'spose it is, Tho?" Due inquired, resting his bony hands on his hips.

"I'm not sure, Due..." Tho replied, his arms crossed.

"It looks like one 'o them arctic rats..." the skinny tribesmen observed.

The chubby tribesmen looked at his cousin quizzicly."Now how would you know what a arctic rat looks like?"

"Well, the rat's blue; the Water Tribes blue too, ain't it?"

"Now see whatcha' did?" Tho rebuked, pointing his finger,"Ya'll can't make a call like that; the War over. We gots ta' stop stereo-typin' frum now on..."

The cousins heard a groan; they tipped their heads down to see the "rat" slowly regain consciousness."What happened...?" he mumbled.

"Look, Tho! The rat can talk!" Due exclaimed.

"It _ain't_ a arctic rat!"

"Hey! I'm not a rat!" Sonic cried, propping himself up.

"See? Even the _rat_ says so!" Tho continued.

"Who are you guys?" Sonic took a whif,"And why do you smell like you just walked out of a..." he stopped, as he realized what kind of environment he had woke up in,"...swamp..."

"Heh, well I don't what else a swamp-folk ought to smell like..." Tho retorted somewhat pridefully.

Perfect; not only did the blue hedgehog not know where he was, he knew that since he was sleeping on his back, he had plenty of swamp smushed into his quills. Lucky him..."Right, well, you guys wouldn't happen to know where the nearest civilization would be, would you?" he asked smiling, regardless of the circumstances.

"...Ci...vil... la..." Due struggled.

The shorter, stalkier waterbender slapped his taller, thinner cousin's shoulder."Dag-blastet, Due, he's talkin' about the city!"

Tho finally snapped his fingers."Oh! he must be talkin' about Omashu!" the tribesman realized. He then began to deliver directions."Now whatcha' wanna do is, ya gotta head up north a couple hunred' miles, then ya come around the Cave o' Two Lovers..."

"Now wait a minute, Due, the Cave o' Two Lovers's _west_ o' Omashu!" Tho reminded.

"No it ain't; I remember havin' ta' go around the cave on account o' comin' back from the Fire Nation..." Due recalled.

"That's cause the Fire Nation's _west_ o' the Cave 'o Two Lovers!"

"Oh; well, anyway, after that, ya head eastward till ya get to Misty Palms Oasis-"

"Good lard, Due! Now yer sendin' 'em straight to the desert!"

"I thank I know my way ta' Omashu, Tho..."

"Well I'm startin' ta' think you _don't_ , Due..."

Sonic stared at the bickering cousins blankly; he could tell by now that he had delt with smarter Egg Pawns..."Look uh, I'm sure I'll find the Omashu if I get far enough..." Sonic explained, getting up,"I'm just wasting your time anyway," he turned around,"Oh, and thanks for not trying to eat me or something while I was asleep!" and with that, the blue hedgehog leaped onto the river and sped off.

"But wait! We _was_ gonna eat you!" Due announced.

"Now, Due, why'd ya hafta' go tell 'em that fer? He mighta' turned around!" Tho complained.

* * *

As Sonic navigated through the vast wetland, pulling off all sorts of stunts and what-not, his thoughts started grouping up in order. According to what Metal Sonic had told him, (the jerk, Sonic hoped he landed in a volcano somewhere...) Eggman was sicker of geting beat by Sonic more than Sonic was of having to beat Eggman, so he tried to make a b-line out of his universe, at an attmept to take over another world. He probably figured any universe Sonic wasn't in was worth the risk. Sonic shook his head smirking: poor old Eggman didn't even know Sonic made it by the skin of his gloves; the hedgehog might actually pitty the doctor a little more once he finds out...

His smirk faded when shade of slightly darker blue blurred past him in mid-air, causing him to wobble around for a second before landing not so stylishly on a thick log of a vine. Sonic sighed with relief, only to lookup to see something unexpected: it was Metal Sonic, in his regular form no-less.

Metal Sonic crossed his arms, and signaled his organic other to bring it on before blasting behind along the long, ancient vine.

 _Must of been a side-effect of the crash,_ thought Sonic."Where's your lifeform data now, buckethog!" He exclaimed, dashing after him.

The vine wasn't perfectly straight, forcing Sonic to bob and weave and even jump a few times before finaly reaching his oldest rival."I'm-gonna- _get_ -cha!" he sang.

Metal Sonic responded by curling up and creating a dark, diamond-shaped force field around himself and slowing down, promting Sonic to cart-wheel over him and run backwards."You'd best be gettin' rid o' those stale moves if you're gonna show your chassy in _my_...Eggman?" he paused as he noticed what was behind Metal Sonic: it was Dr. Eggman, in an older variation of his _EggMobile,_ projecting a yellow lazer beam from the bottom straight down behind his metal doppleganger, laughing all the way.

Sonic could have sworn this picture looked familiar..."What so funny, EggHead? In case you haven't notice, your plan failed again: I made it here! Shouldn't you be fuming like a baby? Or did you finally lose it when you found out?" he gloated, though the doctor kept on laughing.

Just then, Metal Sonic covered himself in a yellow force field, and gunned again for Sonic, who just jumped again and was in the same position as before."Why don't you just lie down somewhere, Eggman? There's nothing you could ever do that would throw me off guard, nothing!" he boasted, before turning his head to the right to what was right next to him: a smaller, chibi-er version of Sonic running along side him. The little Sonic smiled, waved his finger, and winked in the same manner Sonic used to, the real Sonic's eyes literally wider than dinner plates."... _who the_..."

Suddenly, Sonic's foot caught a much younger vine, causing him to fly off of the big vine, bouncing off a few trees until touching down face first into a puddle of swamp mud.

The dirty hedgehog pushed himself up strenuously; he was pretty sure he had enough swamp now..."Okay, that was kinda' random, I'll give you that! But it's gonna take a lot more than some mini-me to take on...me!" he got up, and whiped off what ever dirt and debris he could remove with his hands...until of course he realized there was someone next to him.

Sonic quickly spun to his left to see the oddest sight of the day: it was a bald child floating about seven feet away from him. His body and everything on him was colorless, like a black and white film. He was wearing some kind cerimonial robes; there were glowing arrows on his hands, which he had carefully held close to his chest, and one on his bald head. His eyes were closed. He was covered in a strange, white mist. A wind kicked up, swirling around the two, though it did disturb the mist.

Sonic could only blink at the extra-natural being.

Suddenly, the boy's head gradually ascended to meet Sonic's eyes, slowly opening his own as even more light peered out of them, as if he didn't even have pupils. The light eventually grew too much for Sonic, forcing him to avtert his own eyes, until...nothing.

Sonic turned back, there was no one there. He whipped around in all directions: he was all alone.

"What was that all about?" the blue hedgehog wondered aloud. It could of been that the boy was just an illusion; and if that were true, then the same could been said of his oldest "friends" from a mere minute ago. Sonic suppressed the thought long enough to hop upwards from branch to branch until he made it to the crown of a tree.

Whatever new world the azure hedgehog has landed on, it was definately different from the one he just left; especially if those half-naked guys were any indication - he just hoped not everyone was like that. What he knew for sure was, he was going to have to find his friends and perhaps make some new ones before even considering to go after the Eggman, as he recalled the doctor snatching away the Chaos Emeralds at the last minute - that was kind of why he was here in the first place. Maybe he should check out this Omashu?

Despite the overwhelming conditions, Sonic The Hedgehog was off to the distance, and he had his game face on, as he knew the minor setback was the dawn of a new adventure like never before...


	5. The Besiege

_Previously, on Avatar..._

 _"What's happening?"_ , _Aang asked, hoping for an answer from the previous Avatar._

 _*FLASH*_

 _"What is it?" Aang asked, still thinking Roku might know._

 _I have no idea. It appears to be a vessel of some sort._

 _*FLASH*_

 _...Aang, you must return to your body so that you may resume your duties. Prepare for anything, for whatever this entity is, it may very well be here to upsurp the balance of the world, or even balance itself._

 _*FLASH*_

 _Aang sat up."It wasn't a bad dream", he said,"it was a vision. I was talking to Roku, and there was this big flash, and then this giant, round, pointy thing came out of nowhere. Then Roku was gone, and then a meteor..."_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"...You just got through telling everybody specificly that Mount Makapu wouldn't go off for the next three years! You had no idea that was gonna happen_ _just_ _like the rest of us! Ergo, your not real! I was right, and you were wrong, so HA!"_

 _"You better hope I'm not a real fortunteller," Aunt Wu defended herself, resting her old hands on her old hips,"otherwise, that little fluke could have been a sign that the universe has been altered..."_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"...It's probably nothing," replied the fortuneteller sarcasticly,"it could be just a change of weather, or a powerful, destructive force has manifested itself and is intent on consuming the universe and everything in it."_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"Do you know what you've done?!" Katara yelled, spinning her head to her brother,"Because of you, no one believes her anymore! Maybe you should think what happens when Aunt Wu actually does forsee something terrible, and everybody ignores her all because of one little fluke!"_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"I can't help it, Katara," Aang replied,"The cosmic order has been compromised. Even if it's nothing bad, I just know this isn't the end of it..."_

 _*FLASH*_

 **Book Four:**

 **Metal**

 **Chapter Three:**

 **The Beseige**

Silence...it was all that was there.

No dancing flames to conceal his mortality, no peons that wouldn't so much as dream of looking upon his face, not even a redish metallic shade to ever remind him that he was still home. He just sat there, more or less lay there, aganst the even-temperatured, grey stone wall, his arms crossed against his bare chest. They offered him raggs to wear but he rectracted, not surprising many.

Ninety-seven days - yes, he counted - he had been here, festering in this cell for ninety-seven long, solid days, and still the most unbelievable factuality to comprehend was ringing out all over the map: he _lost_. Not to some sort of great warrior, but to a **boy** ; a good-natured little vegetarian, a boy that didn't even wish to harm him to begin with. And not only was he over-powered by an individual three quarters of his own height in every manner he could think of, not only did that same child deny him the most commendable of deaths, that the Avatar, the most powerful mortal there ever will be, would have absolutely no other option but to put forth every ounce of power against him and slay him like the heathen god he should have been, to be recorded in history as one equal, if not over-shadowing, to such men as the great Chin the Conquerer, or even his own grandfather, who hunted wild dragons for sport...

That boy, that _infant_ , thought it best to strip from him what was practicly his very essence: his very _bending_ , and toss what was left in a prison, a mere _prison_ ; forced to endure the relentless jokes and murmurings of the worthless guards that patroled the halls about his failure, dubbed with such degrading monikers as "The Phoenix Louse" or "The Oven Lord".

A child didn't deserve to weild such a gift, a gift that should've been his. And he was going to get it to; he didn't care how or when this miracle would take place, but he knew he couldn't just sit here for the rest of his life with these lowly morons; this simply couldn't be his destiny, not _his_ destiny...

Suddenly, the silence was supplanted with echoing footsteps that slowly neared his cell, along with rather pleasant scent that penatrated through the usual unspeakable odors; he had a feeling those footsteps and scent were for him.

During his "stay" in prison, he had made it a point to memorize every footstep that had the audacity to pass his cell. These in particular were somewhat soft, possibly attempting to resist any added weight the person's legs had the unbarrable burden to support. Unforunately, the footsteps were only few yards from his room before he recognized the previously unfamiliar scent: Ginseng tea.

 _Oh, Agni, just kill me now..._

The rusty metal door squeaked open, and in came former General Iroh in his old Fire Nation attire, holding a steaming teapot resting on a saucer along with two tea cups on either side. He was wearing mittens, of course.

"Ah, there you are, my brother," the former general beamed.

Ozai simply stared, sucking as much subtle hatred into his haggard face as physicly possible, which would be saying a lot for a former Fire Lord.

Iroh sat down cross-legged before the cage bars, carfully setting his Earth Kingdom tea set atop a table cloth on the floor."You know," he began, pouring some piping hot tea into his cup. Ozai wondered how his brother managed to keep it that hot for so long, but he'd rather not get into another elongated dialougue over some hot-leaf juice, "I was drinking this very same tea one day at my apartment, and it just occured to me: we have not spoken to eachother in over three-and-a-half years," Iroh began pouring into the second cup,"I just sat there and thought,'How could this happen?' We used to talk or at least write to eachother about nearly everything; in fact, I don't think we've been able to hold a decent conversation ever since you were crowned the Fire Lord, right when-" he stopped,"...well, you know happened...I suppose it was not a very benevolent six years for any of us," he concluded with a smile, extending the second cup beyond the bars for his younger brother to take it.

 _Of course_ , the former tyrant deduced. That fat hedonist clamered all the way across the planet just to exploit the perfect (and virtualy immortal) opportunity to finally force that accursed liquid down the former ruler's gullet. It wasn't the fact that the tea in question was from the Earth Kingdom that got to him, though; it was that, after an entire season's worth of inedible grule and astronomicly unpleasant odors, a peasant's drink didn't sound so bad, though he still kept his still, exerting all his willpower to resist the pungent fragrance.

To his relief, the Dragon of the West got the message: Ozai didn't want any (though his taste buds certainly did). The retired general frowned as he pulled his hand away from the rusty bars, setting the cup on the saucer."I suppose you wish to know the reason behind denying the throne that was meant to be mine to begin with?" he inquired, though it was a retorical question: he didn't expect his brother to say anything during this visit,"Well, I guess you deserve to know..." Iroh sipped his tea,"The truth is, I was never a very appropriate choice for such a role; a general, certainly, but that was as far as it went. In my youth, I was stubborn, prideful, and thick-skinned; these traits are usually ones that define an earthbender, though that is not to say _you_ were ever very humble..."

Ozai knew any reaction at his brother's cheap shot would only support his point.

"...but I am getting ahead of myself," Iroh continued, staring at his reflection in the tea-filled cup,"In heinsight, I suppose I reserved every right to seize the throne, but what would that of proved?" he asked, looking into his brother's eyes,"Where is the honor in taking advantage of my own nation's moment of weakness?"

 _Oh, so the_ _Fire Nation_ _is your home now?_

"The War would eventully rekindle, and no one would have learned anything...But Zuko is new; he is innocent. And it is this innocence that must be preserved, and developed, so that the potholes of contention may be filled up, and forgotten."

 _"The pot holes of contention"? Honestly, Iroh, where do you come up with these metaphors?_

Finishing his tea, the self-exile put on his mitten, picked up the set, and stood up."Well, this was a good talk. I hope that one day, your incarceration will help you to realize that the weight of the world was not meant for your shoulders."

Just before Iroh left, he removed the second cup and placed it before the bars, as a sign of no hard feellings.

Ozai listened as his elder brother's footsteps inevitably faded away with their echos. He then turned his attention down to the full teacup. He slowly brought it within the cage, stared at it for a few seconds, and took a content-full sip, as the Phoenix King had very strong sensation that, soon, there wasn't going to be an Earth Kingdom _or_ Avatar at all.

 **Meanwhile, in Gaoling...**

A familiar earthbending champion crashed head-first onto the unmerciful ground below the stage.

"And the Boulder has been crumbled once again!" announced Xin Fu to the roaring audience.

"HO Yeah! Third time in a row, baby!" Toph vocalized, embracing her thunderous fans.

"The Boulder is seriously reevaluating his career..."the champion grimaced in third-person before allowing his head to fall back against the perforated floor.

"Hurray, Toph!" Poppy cheered for her daughter."Oh, Lao, I'm so happy we decided to come; look how happy she is!" she beamed, said girl flaunting an evil laugh.

Lao had his chin rest against his palm."I know; I just wish our daughter would be more dignified about the whole thing..."

Indeed, it was the latest Earth Rumbler tournament, and Toph Bei Fong, publicly known as the infamous Blind Bandit, had just smacked down her supposed rival, the Boulder, into a never-ending river of humiliation for the third time in a row (the second time was a private match, so it was unofficial), thus retaining her consistent title as the greatest earthbender in the world.

Xin Fu dropped down to the stage."And there it is, folks! All bets are final, and the Blind Bandit reigns supreme! Although, I'm not gonna lie here, people: anybody who's been here before, whether on the seats or in the ring, could've seen this a continent away. For there was only one man who ever bested her in combat, one man who put this trash-talking brat in her place! And that man...was the AVATAR!"

The audience agreed with another wave of screams and cheers. Toph was simply loving her new reputation as a result of her adventures with Aang; she did, however, have several mixed opinions about being labeled as "second to the Avatar" in terms of earthbending skill.

The former champion continued,"But it really makes ya think, folks: Could there be anyone else?"

 _"NOOOOOO!"_ the devoted fans replied.

"Is there anyone else man enough to take on this little girl?" Xin Fu inquired, gaining several more _booooo_ 's.

"Maybe your right! Maybe there _is_ no other man that can best The Blind Bandit of Goaling!"

The audience cheered at this powerfully, but Toph raised an eyebrow. To her, it sounded as if Xin was about to introduce a new fighter that was a girl just like her. That actually sounded neat.

"But if a _man_ can't defeat her, my brothers and sisters...what about a BEAST!? That's right, folks: the next opponent to challenge the Bandit...isn't even human!"

Now the audience and Toph were the right amount of confused.

"Oh my goodness, he's not going to force her to fight a badgermole, is he!?" Lao exclaimed clutching his hair.

"pfft, What, another Badgermole? I eat those for breakfast", Toph crossed her arms in contrast.

"The creature has come from a far away land, where the ancient monsters of legend still reign!" Xin Fu trumpeted, swinging his arm in a wide dramatic arc."And now...The Blind Bandit will have to face a being the likes of which she has never seen before!"

"Well, I've never actually seen anything, so..." Toph mumbled.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you...!" he swung his finger to the sky. At the same time, a figure lept from below, over his finger, and landed in the center of the stage on his over-sized sneakers."THE GREEN DRAGON!"

Vector pumped his fists in the air. "YEAAAAH BABY!"

Topics blind eyes shot open. "What in the...?"

The audience exploded with cheers at the sight of the talking animal.

"Is that a talking alligator!?" Lao vocalized.

"Actually, he's a crocodile," Espio corrected.

The rich man jumped in fright at the purple chameleon on his left.

"And he's our friend!" Charmy jolted into the human's face.

"He's _Charmy's_ friend; he just signs my paychecks." the lizard specified.

"WHAT IS HAPPENING!?" Lao screamed with clawed hands.

"WOOOOOOOOHHH!" Vector went, embracing the crowd's cheers.

Toph was impressed, not just by the talking lizard in front of her, but the lengths Xin Fu must have gone to find this thing - he really must be desperate to take the Blind Bandit down a peg.

"What do you think, people of Gaoling?" Xin Fun went on."Do you think this beast will be the one to push this little girl down to third place!?" The audience booed faithfully."I guess we'll just have to find out!"

Upon hearing this, Vector stopped cheering himself on."Wait a second..." his long face swung between Xin Fu and the aforementioned little girl, "I'm s'pose to fight a little girl?" The crocodile vocalized

The announcer threw his finger dramatically,"Oh yes! But not just any little girl: The same little girl that taught the Avatar the art of earthbending in the the first place!" the masses cheered as he spoke,"The same girl whom not even the Fire Nation Elite could bring down! The same girl that tore apart an entire air fleet with nothing but her bare hands and feet! The same girl that drove a path of destruction, all the way to the...Fire...Nation...capital..." Xin Fu trailed off, staring up at what was definitely the most bizarre sight of his life; and, as always, audience was in complete agreement.

"Is that what I think it is?" Espio grimaced, as the petrified Charmy dropped his bag of fire flakes.

The Blind Bandit was curious as to why the whole arena, including her parents, suddenly fell dead silent; she was beginning to assume everyone had left in a hurry, until the girl sensed a mysterious gust of air pressing against the stage floor behind her, along with an erie hissing noise. She took a wild guess and speculated it to be from an air-scooter, and there was only one individual capable of such a technique...

"That you, Twinkle-toes? Well, what're the odds! Xin Foo Foo was just talkin' about ya. I'm glad you're here actually, cause' now I can settle that score with your little butt back in spring; ya know, when you ruined my record?"

Unfortunately, the young handicap was utterly oblivious to the enormous, black, metal upper-half hovering opposite of her. The span of its huge, shield-like arms were equivalent to the length of a full-grown kommodo rhino, with white claws and a strange green luminessence emmitting from its palms. It seemed to be propelling itself upwards via dual blue flames shooting out from its backside, along with some sort of tail to stabalize its flight. Its most erie feature was its single, green, squinting eye with a horizontal groove behind it, most likely for allowing the eye to shift left and right; along with strange, unfamiliar markings on the lower right side of its midsection, although if properly translated, would have most certainly read "E-101".

"...Hello? Are you sleep-scootering again?" Toph inquiried, turning toward her "friend".

Even futher strange, the legless creature extended both its arms at the unsuspecting Toph. Suddenly, a yellow ball of pure light manifested between its palms.

"...Aang?..."

"What's it doing?" Lao inquired.

"KID, LOOK OUT!" Vector whaled.

"What?" Toph queried.

Without warning, the monster released the ball, which barreled straight for the girl as if fired like an arrow.

Toph gasped, and quickly jerked up a rock slab at the last second. The entire stage was engulfed in fire-born smoke, then everything went black...

 **Meanwhile, in the newly established "peace council" room at the aformentioned capitol...**

"What is wrong with you people?" demanded one Earth Kingdom commander,"The War is over! You have no right to use all of those factories and installations on our soil!"

"For your information, Commander..." began a Fire Nation admiral,"the Fire Nation requires these installations for sufficient energy resouces and proper transportation."

" 'Transportation'?" inquired another Earth Kingdom official,"I thought the airships were meant to partially solve your fuel problem. With all due respect, what excuse does the Fire Lord have for mining an estimated eight-percent more coal since Sozins Comet?"

"Our airships are inflated with steam, steam which originates from heat, which, for the moment, can only be generated by _burning coal!_ Besides, those are are merely _your_ Earth Kingdom estimations! Our national archive's statitics clearly state that..."

And that's the kind of dialogue that Fire Lord Zuko has been listening to since the War ended; and, frankly, the young monarch was deeply considering any other possible reasons on why his uncle turned down the throne. He couldn't completely blame Iroh, though; it was in fact Sokka's idea to pass a new law that required the Fire Lord to stay silent during council meetings until a simple ultimatum was derived out of the seemingly endless bickering for the Fire Lord to decide, which would then end the dicussion, and from were the scarred teen sat, said scenario was about to take place. That is to say, as long as no one changed the subject...

"And while we are at it, the Earth Kingdom charges far to much for produce. What is it with you people and cabbage?!"

The Fire Lord released a frustrated breath, clamping his hand around his face. If only he'd of known of the precious silence he possessed as a banished prince...

Out of nowhere, the entrance drapes flapped open as a servant skidded into the room."WAIT! STOP THE MEETING! I HAVE AN URGENT MESSAGE!"

"Really!?-I mean uhh...How dare you burst in here like that! You could really scare somebody!" Zuko pretended to complain.

The messenger tried to catch his breath."A thousand apologies, my lord..." he panted, bowing in respect,"...An unofficial report has come from the Boiling Rock. The facility has just been..." he panted still,"...raided."

The flame-lite room went wide-eyed in a fraction of a second.

"Raided? By who?" The Fire Lord demanded.

The Fire Nation nobles threw a suspicious glare in the direction of their new Earth Kingdom colleagues.

"They're were no confirmations," the servant explained, still facing the floor,"What we do know is that apparently, the Boiling Rock was stormed by a band of elite soldiers, whom the trained personel were no match for. They might of even had their own airship..."

"Go on," the nearest official urged.

"...er...There is considerable damage to the inner walls and outer sections; no casulties so far. All inmates are accounted for, mi-..." the messenger haulted, then forcefully swallowed his fear,"...minus one..."

While one prisoner out of hundreds seemed more of a blemish than an emergency to most, Fire Lord Zuko knew full well that it might as well have been every other inmate that disappeared instead. A gallon of horror played all over his face, for no one had to inform the young monarch that the one in question was not simply some random theif, arsonist, or even a former terrorist: it was her.

" _Get out..._ " he hissed, in a tone that would've caused even his father to turn his head.

"But, your majesty, you didn't even give him a chance to tell-"

" **GET OUT!** " The Fire Lord thundered as he arose to his feet, the flames suddenly surpassing his height.

The officials understood; everyone slowly walked (aside from the messenger, who fled for his life) out of the council room, leaving the enraged teen with nothing but the flames that surrounded him.

The monarch sunk to his knees, breathing heavily as he wiped the drips of sweat from his forehead. Even in her absence, she still manages to bring out the worst in him.

* * *

Katara and Aang were outside in the royal secret garden in the man-made pond performing their usual dual waterbending exercise; the turtleducks didn't seem to mind.

The young Avatar had grown significantly more sane since Mount Makapu's final eruption, what with Sokka's uncharacteristic reassurance that his waterbending was starting to mysteriously vanish, perhaps due to the universe apparently fixing itself (Katara simply couldn't restrain herself from bursting unto a frenzy of joy at the news). This assurance proved effective enough to a degree where the Air Nomad was able to think about something of a lesser claimed importance than that of his vision; like the truth for example...

"Um, hey, Katara?" he began,"You know how I always say that every day should be treated like a holiday?"

"Uh, sure, I think I remember something like that..." the young master replied, focusing on the large circleing drip she was partialy controlling.

"Well, today might be kind of one of those days that should be...er... extra-treated?"

"Why? Is today some sort of Air Nomad holiday?" Katara inquired.

"Well, yeah, I guess-well, no, I mean, it's not like one o' those, ya know, huge celebrations, it's more like, kind of a-I guess, more of a local kind of-well, it's a bit smaller than that, actually-unless, well, if you know alot o' people, that is. See, it's really more to those, I think, kinda' personal traditions where-well, it's not exactly Air Nomad-exclusive, I mean, everybody has one-er-once a year would be a-...Look what I'm trying to tell you is-"

Suddenly, the bended drip plopped back into its origin, slightly disturbing the turtleducks.

"Today's your _birthday_?!" Katara vocalized rather loudly.

The Avatar immediately shot his hands toward her as a sign to lower her voice." _Sssshhhh_! _Will you keep it down?!_ _The whole world doesn't have to know!_ " he yell/whispered.

"And why shouldn't it?" the waterbender inquired,"You, the Avatar, the protector and overseer of the entire planet has just turned thirteen! How much greater symbolism for a new beginning could there be other than the knowledge that you're actually growing up?!" she demanded.

"I know where you're getting to, Katara," the protector and overseer explained,"but don't you think we've all had enough jubilation for one season? A couple days ago, we were gallevanting aross the map pretty much just telling everybody how awsome we are. Maybe it's time to actually start _healing_ the world of its wounds rather than just mask them all with pretty rugs."

"That's easy for you to say," Katara criticized,"you're one of the only two people that _didn't_ live their whole lives through a century of war..."

"One of four, actually..."

"What?"

"Er...it's not important; move on..."

"...Well, my point is, don't you at least want a present or something?" she asked.

"Why do I need any?" he counter-asked,"I already have the best gift an Avatar could want: the world is at complete tranquility," Aang explained, gazing into the clouds,"Thanks to our efforts, now pretty much anybody can be pretty much anybody's friend; and not only that: the celestial imbalance I sensed has apparently been rebalanced, atleast according to what Sokka told me..." he finished, turning to his safe-to-call girlfriend, only to be met with an expression of total awe.

"...What? It's okay to listen to Sokka once in a while..."

"...aa...big...met...tur..." Katara impulsively whimpered.

"I'm not catching you..." the Avatar replied a second before a large, leather mitten on a cord shot down from behind him, gripping around the waterbender's mid-section, and then yanking her back with a scream as fast as it came.

Not enough time to gasp, Aang spun around to see his teacher-friend in the left arm of a big, green, legless monster that vaguely fit Katara's description, floating

The thing lowered Katara to eye-level _"scanning ... target acquired: requesting immediate extraction"..._ it analysed, pointing its free palm at her.

"Wait, what are you..." the girl attempted before being sprayed with a puff of purple mist, losing consciousness almost instantly.

"LET HER GO!" Aang roared, spinning a full three hundred and sixty degrees and sending a liquid missile straight for its head; however, in the blink of an eye, the thing vanished in an almost imperceptible flash of bluish-green with his girlfriend altogether, the projectile slamming into the roof shingles instead, followed by an abrupt silence...

"...k...Katara...?" the pre-teen asked weakly, his last glimmer of optimism throwing its voice out before fully embracing the truth: she was gone.

"KATAARAAAAAA!"

* * *

At first, total blackness; a moment after, colors gradually un-blurred into a nearly clear image. She groaned as she regained consciousness.

As soon as Katara had, she hauled herself up from the covers of the apparent bed she was sleeping in, and looked around. The room she was in was poorly lit, with only one small dim light off the ceiling, so any details were at first difficult to make out. From where she sat, the waterbender observed a completely metal room with one, big, hatch-less door to her right, and no windows - hence the darkness.

"Where am I?" Katara asked rhetorically, assuming she was alone; she soon found out she wasn't

 _"Guuugh... Who's talking...?"_ grumbled a familiar, smaller voice.

"Toph?" Katara asked, shifting to her left to barely see another bed to her left, its blankets repeatedly unleveled.

"Sugar Queen? What the heck are you doin' in my ro _ooo-oof!_ " the blind girl grunted as she tumbled off of the bed, landing painfully on the metal floor. This of course caused a series of echoing vibrations, inadverdantly enabling the bandit to sense the labrinth of endless hallways below her. A subtle _"woah"_ escaped her lips; she then gained the awkward sensation this wasn't her room.

Katara rushed to her friend, helping her up."Toph, where are we?" the Water Tribe girl asked literaly.

"How should I know? I just woke up!" replied the Earth Kingdom girl.

Out of nowhere, the room rang with an elongated moan. The two turned their attention to a third bed opposite of thhe one Katara had awaken from. They approached the bed, and (Katara) looked down upon a pale-skinned, dark-haired unfamilair girl around her age. The girl slowly open her eyes and gazed up at brown-haired, dark-skinned girl hanging above her."...w-What happened?" she mumbled meekly, looking as if attempting to recall a familiar face.

"er-Oh, sorry," Katara apologized,"I wish I could tell you but, I guess I'm just as confused as you are..."

To the young waterbender, this mysterious girl seemed harmless enough, but then again so does everyone else in a morning daze; for just as Katara had finshed her apology, Toph ran the voice through her head until an instant match was derived...

"Um, Katara... MOVE!" she shouted, jerking her friend out of the way a mere half-second before nearly being consumed within a plume of blue fire, which incinerated Katara's bed in place of her.

Azula attempted to strike at her again, but Katara froze the princess in her tracks via blood bending; Katara swung her arms to the side, sending Azula against the wall. Toph pried the bed's frame to pieces and used some of those pieces to wrap around Azula's wrists and ankles, pinning her to the wall.

The two breathed heavily in relief.

"Hurray, teamwork..." Toph weakly attempted to cheer.

 **Meanwhile, in Chief Hakoda's apartment...**

The renound sword maker and sword master Piandao was taking time out of his routine to give his latest apprentice, Sokka, proper lesson in calligraphy via canvas. Chief Hakoka was utilizing his own free time to witness the lesson while seated on the couch, trying a bowl of eelhound soup (and deeply regretting it; this endeavor was simply not to offend his son's qutie clearly Fire Nation teacher). Suki was also on the couch, brushing Momo's fur.

"Remember, Sokka," Piandao intsructed,"Don't focus on what you're painting right now, focus on what you're _about_ to paint. Imagine a whole image, and then create it; creativity is a core element on the battlefeild. Concentrate, cancel out all other distractions: it's just you, and the canvas..."

As expected, Aang literally blasted into the room."KATARA'S BEEN KIDNAPPED BY ANOTHER METAL MONSTER!"

"METAL WHAT?!" Sokka screamed, spinning around and accidentally whipping a glop of paint onto Momo's back, causing the lemur to go berserk and knock over Hakoda's soup, tip over the canvas, and soar out the window, followed by silence...

"...Now, you see how yelling upsets the mood of a room?" the sword master calmly lectured.

* * *

"What's going on!? Where are we!?" demanded the young waterbender, _"Thank you, by the way..."_ she murmured to Toph.

"Eh, it's a living..." replied Toph.

The former princess scowled at them for a moment, but sighed as she let her fingers go limp."Of course," she muttered,"Just go right ahead and assume that I have somehow kidnapped you out of the clear blue sky, and imprisoned you within some random fortress; I mean, why else would I be trapped in here as well, right?" she inquired sarcastically.

Katara was momentarily thrown off guard by her comment, logic sinking in a second and a half later,"...Oh, well sorry, I didn't-"

"Well, you should've," Azula snapped,"There are other bad people in the world besides me, believe or not..."

"Was it not _you_ who tried to blow Katara's head off thirty seconds ago?" Toph interjected.

"Oh, that; I thought I was having that nightmare again, only in the dream, you try to kill me, and that's when I realized my pillow is actually Uncle's bare stomach, and then he starts telling me how he's going brew me into tea and..."

"I think I'munna' stop you right there..." the Blind Bandit interrupted, having gained far more information than she'd hoped.

"Well you could atleast apologize..." Katara mumbled loudly.

"Are you refering to the dream or my trying to kill you?" Azula inquired for confirmation.

"Which do you think!?"

"Uhh, I just had an epiphany:.." Toph vocalized,"If the Fire Nation didn't capture us," she pointed to Azula,"and I know it wasn't the Earth Kingdom," she gestures to herself,"theeen, where are we, exactly?"

* * *

"A MACHINE!?" Hakota exclaimed.

"And it did kidnapped Katara?" Piandao demanded for confirmation.

Aang allowed the river to flow once more, resting his arms on his lap, sighing,"Yes..." he confirmed,"It took her, and I was too overcome by my own shock do anything about it," he mourned, placing his face into his palms.

The rest of the group had only silence.

Except for Sokka, he continued to scream.

Suki slapped him quiet."SOKKA! Calm down!"

"CALM DOWN!?" Sokka screamed in her face."How can I calm down when my sister's been kidnapped by a _third_ machine monster and then vanishes into thin air!? YOU WERE RIGHT THERE, AANG! WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP IT!?" He shrieked, gripping the airbender by the neck and throttling him.

"STOP IT!" Hakoda pried the teen away from Aang and pushing away."Listen to me!," he began, then breathing,"He already said there was nothing he could do. Now...Katara will be okay for the time being, she's a strong girl, even stronger then me..."

"But she's NOT stronger the _me_! I could have done something! I'm stronger than her now! I'm a...!" the words were stuck in his mind. He froze.

"It's alright, Sokka..." Hakoda rested his hand on his son's shoulder,"You just found out you're a waterbender a few days ago; don't prop yourself up like everyone else is."

Sokka found great comfort in his father's words, despite the fact that he stopped mid sentenced for a completely different reason.

"...We need to look further into this," Aang announced to the group, getting up from his seat and facing them,"Katara's somewhere in trouble, and we can't stop the search no matter what, not for any other emergency."

With timing so perfect, it was almost like a sitcom, Fire Lord Zuko violently reopened the entrance with his foot,"AZULA'S ESCAPED FROM THE BOILING ROCK!"

In stark contrast to the Avatar's entrance, the group became wide-eyed with horror.

"Oh, and apparently, it's Aang's birthday," he added quickly.

* * *

"Let's have a look-see..." Toph began, in a tone reminiscent of a dentist as she rubbed her palms together. The Bandit preceded to press her hands against the wall east of the supposed door. As she did so, Katara and Azula observed her expressions, which appeared to be indicating more bewilderment with each passing second, constantly mumbling such phrases as _"wow..."_ or _"wait, what?..."_ as time went by, almost as if the blind girl was engaging in communication with an some sort of ethereal figure; it failed to improve the former princess's mood.

"Oh, for Ran's sake, is that all you can say?!" the still restrained Azula inquired, filled to the brim with irritation,"I mean really, if you can't come across anything other than more confusion, you might as well take your hand off that wall and go back to bed!" she snapped, though the source of annoyance was far to engrossed in her activity to hear her.

"She's doing her best," Katara defended,"You should be thankful she can bend metal at all."

"And why, pre-tell, should I be thankful for something that _doesn't rear results_?"

"Oh, whatever! It's not like you have the power to do anything about it, anyway..." the young waterbender replied, dismissing the young firebender as she walked over to her friend. _"Any luck?"_

"I wish you could see it," the human metal detector started quietly,"It just goes on and on. Endless rooms and halls, all sorts of pipes and wires and little parts moving by themselves; _by themselves_ , Katara. And if _that's_ not enough, this whole place, as far as I see it - and that's pretty darn far - is...how do I put it into words? Buzzing? Yeah, buzzing! Everything is buzzing with some kinda' energy."

" 'Buzzing with'...? I'm sorry, Toph, I don't think I..."

"I know I'm making less sense as I go, but 'buzzing' is the closest word I can think of," the just as confused earthbender explained.

"Are there any other prisoners here besides us?" Katara wondered.

"No, there's no one else; in fact, as crazy as I already sound, I'm pretty sure we're the only living things in this place..."

At this news, even Azula had to get up and stare at the girl."No one else? That's impossible! If we're the only ones here, then who's monitoring all of those machines you were talking about? Who's running the facility?!" the former princess demanded.

"I...don't know..."

A haze of anxiety fell upon the three girls; but, as usually, the earthbender broke the eerie silence she created.

"...But we're gonna find out..." she declared, in true Earth Kingdom fashion, proudly trekking toward the speculated entrance; the young champion rooted her feet against the floor, and with a mighty roar, pounded her fists into the door... immediately causing the girl to balk away in pain, chanting "ow!" with a short frequency.

"Well that was forseeable..." was Azula's instant reaction.

"Toph, are you alright?" Katara asked, dashing to her friend and checking for bruises.

"Odd, I thought metal was simply a purified form of earth; isn't that how you can see through it?" the firebender teased, gaining another glared from the waterbender.

"... _ow_...First of all..." Toph began, illuminating the former princess between her throbs,"I don't- _ow_ \- 'see' through metal or earth, I- _ouch_ -sense the vibrations- _eep_ \- that travel through the earth or metal- _hurt_ -which I can decipher- _pain_ -into a clear, three-dimentional shape... _whew! worst part over..._ Second, to anwer your question, yes, metal is just purified earth; it's just that, apparently, this particular metal is a bit purer than what I'm used to. Otherwise, my knuckles would be broken right now,"she finished, walking back over to the door with far less confidence, and feeling it.

"Yep, it'll definately be a while before I get the swing o' this door; probably be like learning how to metalbend all over again," she confirmed.

The other two seemed somewhat dissappointed; it took a second before the full situation sank in.

"So...we're trapped in here?" Azula inquired for confirmation, though she didn't care for an answer,"Fine, I suppose as long as I don't have to do anything..." the former princess moaned , inadvertently imitating Mai with her pessimism.

The waterbender decided to do so as well, sitting on the bed Toph woke up in (as Katara's bed was still clearly on fire). As Katara watched her friend search for impurties in the door, she couldn't help but wonder just where she was. According to what the Bandit had just explaned to her, they were all alone in some sort of abandoned base with no other signs of life aside from machines being propelled by a mysterious "buzzing" force; but what kind of force buzzes? But more importantly, Aang is with little doubt looking for her; if the three girls have no idea where they are, how on earth would Aang find them?

* * *

Appa soared through the sky, carrying the group to the Boiling Rock to find answers behind the recent raid; though Chief Hakoda and Master Piandao chose to stay at the capitol, the palace put on high alert in case of a possible invasion.

"I'm confused; what happened to not stopping the search FOR MY SISTER no matter what!?" Sokka inquired.

"There's gotta be a connection between Katara's capture and Azula's escape; the Boiling Rock was invaded on the _same day_ Katara was kidnapped, there's no way this is a coincidence " the young Avatar explaned.

"Right, so, this other machine...what'd it look like exactly?" the warrior inquired.

"I already told you: it was like a big, floating cylinder with arms but no legs," Aang re-explained.

"Was it red?" Zuko asked.

"What?...No, it was green but...why is that important right now?" the airbender demanded.

"Because color makes all the difference," Zuko suddenly followed up.

"How's that?" Suki asked.

"Even before the War, the Fire Nation has always been the most advanced of the for nations in terms of engineering. Think about it, what would the masses think if there was so much as a rumor that the Southern Water Chief's daughter was captured with a _red_ device? You know, as in: red like the Fire Nation?"

A chill enveloped the group's bodies at the prospect of the Fire Lord's implication.

* * *

 _"Four sea-sons: Fooouuur loves..."_

Katara rested atop the cover of the bed; her arms cross, and her face drenched with irritation - an expression the young waterbender wasn't normally aquainted with; though the girl was thoroughly justified, as Azula had now been singing _"Four Seasons"_ \- supposedly one of General Iroh's favorate songs - for roughly ninety-one minutes in an awfully dull tone, as if beckoning the nearest hard object to her forehead. Any average-tempered individual might have gone off after the first few minutes, which would imply the Water Tribe girl had accomplished a record by not saying anything until now...

"...Would... you... please... **SHUT. UP!** " Katara finally roared, silencing the former princess.

"...I was just singing..." the firebender replied quietly.

"Yeah, 'just singing'; 'just singing' for about _an hour and a half!_ " the waterbender reminded,"I mean, isn't it enough that I'm trapped in here with someone who's out for my blood?!"

"She was just singing, Katara, there's no reason to go overboard about it," Toph interjected, still feeling the door.

"You're not actually standing up for her, are you?" Katara inquired,"I thought you hated noise because it interfers with your bending!"

"What? I never said that," the Bandit contradicted,"in fact, more vibrations help me see clearer, so to speak. And besides, Azula wasn't making any noise, she was _singing_ ; and if ya don't like singing, you could've just said so."

"I most certainly do _not_ not like singing!" Katara defended herself, shooting up from her/Toph's bed, "In fact, I love _'Four Seasons',_ it's the way _she_ sings it that makes it sound annoying..."

As the Water Tribe girl ranted, the Earth Kingdom girl gave the door one more good double jabb; and to her over all relief, created a large dent."...Hey, I got it!" she beamed.

"Oh, I get it, so it's just _me_ you don't like?" Azula inquired, completely missing Toph's announcement.

"Umm, Guys?"

" _Ooh!_ Ya think so? Just because I date the the most hospitable namby pamby on the planet doesn't neccessarily mean I'm willing to be best friends with the same psycho that almost killed him..." Katara retorted.

" _Hellooo_. I just solved the door problem? The one that's keeping us in here?"

" 'Namby pamby'?" Azula repeated,"Don't you so much as _mention_ 'namby pamby' in my presence! And I'm not just talking about Ty Lee, I'm talking about Ty _Lo_ , Ty _Lei_ , Ty _La_ , Ty _Lu_ , I-I can even remember the other ones! It's no wonder that poor girl left for the circus; it's complete madness!"

Toph sighed."Look, I'm not waitin' for this to end; just please remember to use the me-sized hole I just made when you two're done?" she suggested, exiting through said hole.

 _"Hole?"_ the bickering benders inquired simultaneously, turning to the Toph-sized exit.

Katara darted for the exit.

"Um, excuse me..." Azula's voice stopped her.

Katara looked at her.

"Aren't you forgetting someone?" the firebender reminded.

The waterbender's lips sank at the idea."You're not serious: you try to kill me the moment you see me, and you expect me to let you go?"

 _"Seriously, I'm not slowing down for you two...!"_ Toph called from down the hall.

"Listen, we've already established that whomever has captured us is not on either side. Do you see? We have a common enemy, and the only way for us to defeat this unknown enemy is for me to cast aside my petty grievances toward your people and help you escape, and judging by the look of things, you two certainly need all the help you can hold on to at the moment. Do we have an accord?" the firebender raised an eyebrow.

The waterbender tightened her mouth and scowled at the girl; she had no reason to disagree.

Katara shut her eyes."Toph! Come back, I need you for a second...!"

* * *

After a long, anxious flight, the group were now sailing over the ring of earth that surrounded the Boiling Rock, presumably the most impregnable prison on the planet - in or out - all the more reason to be anxious to know what military force could achieve what the Earth Kingdom and Water Tribes could not.

"Uh, guys, I know I'm a little late on the mark but, are we still sure this is a good idea?" the team's chief skeptic queried; Appa entering the cloud of steam.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko demanded,"How else are we supposed to find out what happened to the Boiling Rock if we don't actually go in there?"

"I know, I know," Sokka replied," I just keep thinking what would happen if whoever invaded the place is still, ya know, there, and that message you got was actually a trap..."

"I don't think will have to worry about that..." Suki announced nervousely, pointing out in the distance.

The group faced forward, expecting to see a prison complex in ruins, but as far as the outside walls were concerned, the place was virtually unscathed; the other side on the other hand, as the children soon found out, was completely devastated. The court yard was riddled with debris and scorch marks, several watch towers collapsed; the inner walls were perforated like a prairie hog field, and Zuko could've sworn there was once a giant harpoon ballista where a crude hole lay, the battlement probably boiling at the bottom of the lake right now...

The staff was still clearly active, substituting repaires for the less extreme damages.

Appa landed on the gondola port, two parralel rows of guards immedietely assembling to greet them.

"Oh yeah, I keep forgetting: we're pretty high up in the world, aren't we?" the Southern Water Prince realized as the Fire Lord, Kyoshi Warrior captian, and Avatar climbed off the last flying bison in existence.

A man appeared at the end of the double row."Thank you for responding to my message, my lord," the man said in the humblest of tones, naturaly bowing down,"It is a great honor that you would be willing to personally..."

"Yeah, it's nice to meet you too-What happened here?!" said lord interrupted, not in the slightest interested in formalites.

"And where's the warden?" Sokka wondered.

"Actually, the warden you know is no longer here," the man explained,"he could never really recover from the loss of his record, and decided to jump off a high place..."

The group froze.

Aang couldn't find his lungs "...you mean he..."

"What?" he paused, soon after realizing how his words could be misread,"Ohhhh-er- of course not! What I meant to say is that he recently retired and is probably living with his family. I'm the new warden, the 'high place I was refering to," the new warden hastily explained, pointing at himself at the end.

The teens let out sighs of relief.

"Oh...heh heh...of course..." the Fire Lord giggled, relieved of the possibility that he had played a part in suicide,"...But seriously, what happened? This place looks like it was in the path of a tsunami!"

"Right...that's what you came here for..." the new warden grimaced, rubbing the back of his neck "...Well, there's really no rational way of explaining this; and I pray, my lord, that you believe me; this ordeal is just as serious as it is unbelievable..."

"Well spit it out already! Who invaded this place?!" the Avatar demanded loudly.

"I-it wasn't so much as _who_ but more of a _what_ ; and the _what_ in happens to be..." he took a deep breath "...a giant, mechanical dog."

If the group were auditioning for a role at that very moment in which they would portray flabergasted teens, they would've won an award.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Toph peeped immaturely as the girls paced down another dark, seemingly endless hallway, lit by Azula via firebending, Katara at the front. The three had their heads hung in exhaustion, not really paying attention to where they were going: they were all certain after five minutes of not running into a random guard, sentry, any other living organism that the building was truly abandoned.

"I don't know; _you're_ the one with the feet," Azula replied.

"Well, my feet say we're lost. This is knda' the part where one of you sees a special shortcut; ya know, with your eyes?"

The firebender moaned."What's the point of being able to pick up vibrations from any given direction if you don't even know where you're going?"

"Hey! I know a heck of a lot more about what's going on around me than any instrument you got!" the earthbender cried, throwing her finger in the former princess's direction,"I can spring ambushes, counter an attack before it's performed, tell when people are lying..."

"Minus anybody with an ounce of self-control..." Azula finished,"Really, if you're as perceptive as you make yourself out to be, I fail to see why you can't simply look into someone's eyes and...oh, that's right; _nevermind..._ " she remarked in way that Toph didn't even want to respond.

"Was that really neccessary?" Katara inquired.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Why is it that you absolutely have to step on any one in the same room as you and make them feel useless?" the waterbender demanded.

"Well, I don't how else I'm to supposed to win an arguement; especially between an enemy..." the firebender replied.

" _'Enemy'_ ?" Katara repeated,"Can you hear yourself? The War is over! Aang I understand, but how could you hold anything against Toph? You barely know her!"

The former princess released an overwelmingly condesending sigh."I wouldn't expect _you_ to understand; you having lived your entire life within an impaired society founded upon substance and being totally devoid of any form of of political establishment whatsoever..." she patronized, thoroughly geared for a spontaneious burst of fury from her target.

While preasure was indeed building up within the young waterbender, the "savage" chose to vent her frustration in a more passive form."Your right," she humbly consigned,"Compared to you, my people's education is just above the training of pets. I guess that's why it'll forever escape me why the third greatest firebender on Earth could ever - during Sozin's Comet - be over-powered and out-smarted by a random fourteen-year old girl who didn't even expect to survive beyond that point and, the following morning, disposed of like a pile of komodo meneur by her **own nation**. It shall eternally elude me..."

Dead silence...

"...dang... wait, that actually happened?" Toph inquired, having never knew how she and Zuko defeated Azula. The Bandit had assumed it was a combined effort, but this? This was just...unfair.

As expected, the blind-sided firebender was frozen in her tracks; Katara realized this as their only source of light dimmed with he movement. The waterbender turned to her.

"Not as playfull as you thought it was, huh?" Katara taunted, though Azula was still motionless. After a second or two of further silence, the Water Tribe girl continued her trek."Well, you had it coming; at least now you know what it's like on the receiving e _eehh!-_ " she yelped as she tripped over an unseen object " _ow_..."

Katara slowly turned on her back to view the cause of her fall: a disembodied head.

The girl gasped/sreamed the instant she laid eyes on it, shooting back onto her feet and backing away a few feet. "HEAD!" she involuntarily announced.

"It's a head?" Azula inquired rather calmly,"Interesting; I was trying to make it out seconds before...I'm sorry, but could you repeat your sentence from earlier?"

"You didn't hear what Katara said?" Toph asked,"That was by far the coolest thing that ever came out of her mouth!"

"Who cares what I said? I just tripped over a _human head!_ Ew!" Katara muttered, frantically whiping off her ankles.

"Wait a minute..." the blind one mumbled, walking to and picking it up.

"EW!" Katara protested.

"Calm down, Suger Queen, it's made of metal," Toph explained.

"Made of...? Let me see that..." Azula asserted, as she was apparently the only girl out of the three with some degree of memory just before being kidnapped. She paced over to the object, allowing her blue flame to expand for a brighter picture.

As she did so, another object caught the corner of the eyes of both herself and Katara. The fire and waterbenders gaze traveled beyond the "head" until, finally, they came upon a sight that made their eyes grow so wide, they were almost circular.

"What're you guys gawkin' about n-...oh..." she uttered, shifting her right foot slightly for a perspective of her own.

As far as the flame luminated, the rest of the hallway was littered with a massacre of machinery. The three hesitantly continued down the wide hallway, hoping to find an end to the destruction; though they only found more and more as they walked.

There were all sorts of ravaged mechanizations, parts, and pieces of parts everywhere; it was a challenge for the girls not to step on any of them, though Toph had little difficulty. The realization that got to them the most, was that the majority of fragmented components in the dark tunnel, to a degree, bared a stomach churning resemblance to human appendages. Arms, legs, heads, and even some weapons of all shapes and sizes; from appliances around the stature of pumkinapples to gargantuan giants evisorated from the inside out.

"Look at all this," Katara squirmed,"I feel queezy almost..."

"If you think you're on the verge of it now," Azula began in a similiar tone,"what do you think destroyed them all?"

The girls attained a whole new sense of fear.

"... _Man, where_ _are_ _we?!_ " Toph inquired, though under her breath as not to awaken some kind of metal-eating beast that might still be near by.

* * *

The new warden was leading the teens through one of the prison's huge corridors, which had also sustained a bit of damage. According to multiple eye-witnesses, the giant dog was merely a distraction while a band of much smaller metallic creatures stormed the building and captured Princess Azula, or _Former_ Princess as Zuko corrected aggressively, then vanished without a trace. These creatures were discribed as being atleast six feet tall with white and black armor, mostly white; flat, wide heads with a single, luminous, horizontal blue light where eyes should be; long, slender legs with inverted joints, simliar to that of a bird's legs; they all had miniature cannons in place of forearms, ones that released continuous rounds of hot pellets that flew with lethal velocity: so fast they were comepletely invisible, and on the right arm, much larger cannons that fired explosive rockets that, according to a few inmates, were able to maneuver through air on their own; and strange attachments with two dish-shaped mechanisms that hung just above thier back that allowed the creatures to fly around themselves.

This general description seemed to severely unnerve Sokka, who managed to mask his inward horror by focusing on the pending rescue of his younger sister.

"Did anyone get a good look at the airship they used to invade?" Zuko asked the warden.

"Well, that's the thing, your Majesty, no one ever actually saw an airship..." the warden replied.

The group looked at him.

"No airship?" Aang inquired,"Then how did they get in here? There's no way it was by boat..."

The warden sighed; he forgot to mention this part."I'm afraid it's exactly the way everyone else has been saying it..."

The children slowed down in their pace. As every witness, prisoner and prison guard, explained the event, they all agreed that the creatures had appeared out of nowhere, did whatever they came to do, and left in the same instant as they appeared, with the lack of any prominent means of entry or exit.

"Are you saying that," Suki began,"they literally just manifested themselves, destroyed the place, then dissappeared into thin air?"

The warden nodded,"...both times in a breif flash of light; greenish I think..."

" _Just like Katara_..." the young Avatar mumbled,stopping comepletely,"I knew it! There is a connection!" he shouted, walking off and leaning on the rail.

The group threw a conserned glance toward the boy, even the warden.

"It would also explain why the outside is clean while anything behind was anninilated," Zuko realized," As crazy as it sounds, there's no other explanation..."

* * *

The girls continued their journey through the mysterious building, barely recovering from the sight they had seen. They tried to convince themselves they'd seen stranger; but then again, so did the last group that was up here...

Suddenly, Toph halted. The other girls turned to her.

"What's wrong?" Katara asked, trying not to think that they were about run into something that was still alive. That notion faded quickly, as the waterbender saw the big smile on the Bandit's face.

"I found a way out!" she announced.

Azula spun around with surprise,"Seriously?!"

"It has to be; I'm not sensing anything beyond that point! Com'on!" she explained, dashing away.

The fire and waterbenders followed in close pursuit.

* * *

Zuko joined his nomadic friend against the rail, partially in an attempt to comfort him. "You do know there's no way spirits would need an army to overtake an earthly prison complex, let alone one made of metal," the Fire Lord quietly reminded the boy with out looking at him,"Last time I checked, metal is something that humans invented..."

"That would have to mean they weren't spirits," Aang replied, glancing at some holes in the wall behind him,"Spirits can do a lot more than this..." his voice contained some angst.

"And if my sister and Katara weren't kadnapped by spirits, that means there not in the Spirit World."

* * *

The girls packed up their speed, hoping to find the exit they were searching for.

* * *

"In other words," Zuko continued," even if the ones behind this did just disappear, they would have to _reappear_ somewhere else in the physical world; a special location they can go to to collect on their victory... an island, a cave...a vessel of some sort..."

It was at that very second that the young Avatar had recalled his vision from nearly a week ago, where his predecessor had used the exact same words.

The airbender clasped his hands around the rail, making a clapping noise and gaining everyone's attention."I know where they are!"

* * *

The doorway was in sight: they were almost there.

In the heat of the moment Azula rushed pass the other two, leaped up, and with a somersalt, jabbed both her legs forward, creating a huge fireball that blew the door open, forcing it to buckle upwards like curtians exposed to wind, succeeded by silence.

The girls slowly entered through, into a spacious room made mostly of glass, and just outside the window, was the night sky.

A smile of releif eveloped the fire and waterbender's faces...before they realized one crucial flaw in logic: the night sky was in _front_ of them. Their gaze eventually slipped down toward the soft bluish glow beneath the glass floor that provided light for the room, attaining their most horrified expressions yet, their already exausted minds questioning reality itself simply in order to find any at all basis of perspective.

Toph had a similiar sensation as well, sensing a void of infinite nothing below the glass under her feet as well as beyond the window she faced; although her reaction was far less hysterical:"Okay, I give up, WHERE ON EARTH ARE WE?" she fumed.

"That's just it, Toph..." Katara replied with no emotion whatsoever, her blue irises quivering,"...we're not _on_ Earth..." she revealed as she stared down at the planet itself...from one of the countless balconies aboard Space Colony Ark.


	6. The Space Station

**Book Four:**

 **Metal**

 **Chapter Four:**

 **The Space Station**

It had been silent in the room for hours. Nothing broke this silence, say for occasional bleeps, clicks, and hums of machinery. It stayed from excitment a room like this, with nothing to do but watch something uncannily close to a disturbing mix between a bad episode of Survior and the History channel, you'd get pretty bored after a while...just sitting there, watching, with palm resting on your chin, which now felt a little too warm and moist; it took him hours just to find a chair in this accursed satillite - really, who builds a massive computer terminal with no chair? It had been different before this little project, different when he was actually out in the field, when he towered above every natural thing, when he dominated, and even when the good doctor was beaten by that little rodent time and time again, he still domninated. He never gave up, never quit and he never would. He'd have to die first, whether by age or by defeat; well, he wasn't dead yet and he hadn't been beaten yet either

But now, as he sat there in the chair, his legs almost numb, he nearly began to regret the latest, greatest and without a doubt most well thought out plan he had ever (and most likely ever will be) conceived. Over the past week he'd been here, he kept trying to find an excuse to get up and out of his seat. Sometimes, he'd check maintence on the computer logs, maybe got himself some water, try going to the rest room even when he didn't have to, or maybe he paced randomly.

There were actually many times he wanted to engage, but he'd observed these primitive people. They were by no means civilized, at least by his opinion, especially with their steam powered technology.

Steam power... so archaic... the doctor did, however, find the concept of "bending" the elements to one's will to be rather interesting. He was still in the process of determining whether this mystyrious art was a biological feature of the species or an incredibly ancient practice perfected over millenia. He had eventually tossed aside the idea that he might be able to perform the neccessary techniques himself; not that he would ever need to, not with a mind like his.

This peculiar civilization bared an erie resemblance to ancient China, Japan, and other old far eastern eras, though at the same time, possesed a capacity for modern western slang. They seemed to very spiritual, very rural, not relying on much science of any kind. And it wouldn't take a scientist of his intellect to figure out what would happen if they new of his presence...

They would probably scream, run, believing his robots to be some incarnation of their mythological beasts. They might actually try to defend themselves; it wouldn't be too hard to mount a resistance with that bending ability of theirs - this "avatar" could pose a serious inconveniance...

Or, perhaps they'll just submit to his technological wonders and worship him as a god...now, he admired the thought of that... then again, if the whole planet made a ruccus, the element of surprise would be a lost hope completely, shot down before it even started. No, not just yet

So he'd been patient, stalking these primates, getting close, but not too close, moving his stealthy droids exactly where he wanted them, when he wanted them. Of course, it wouldn't matter how much information on this new world he would gain if he never found that jewel: the very same jewel among six others that he had spent his young adult life searching for, and somehow managed to always slip from his grasp no matter how many times he caught a hold of them. Blasted mutant, thinks it can just break out from it's restraints and snatch the stone when he wasn't looking.

He'll find the beast, and even if he doesn't, there's still the equally genius backup plan the doctor was forced to cook up...

His thoughts were unexpectedly interrupted by the sound of the entrance door jerked upward via hydrolics, followed by the apparant footsteps of three light-weighted individuals and the distinct metallic stomping of an above medium-sized robot behind them, though he did not turn around, having a good idea what was behind him, making him grin even wider.

 _Doctor, the prisoners were caught attempting to escape the space station; they demanded to speak with the current director of the facilty._ the Egg Fighter explaned.

" 'Space station' ?" Toph repeated,"You mean station... in SPACE!?"

 _Oh yeah, I got 'em right where I want 'em..._

"Well, what do you know, I was just on the verge of thinking about you..." Dr. Eggman began slowly, revolving around and revealing himself to the fire, water, and earthbenders.

* * *

"MY SISTER'S IN OUTER _WHERE_?" Sokka exclaimed.

The teens were by this time heading back to the capitol city, realizing just how vulnerable it might be. The trip in total was clearly taking its toll on time itself, as the sun luminated the orange sky to Appa's right. Aang payed no mind to this, since he was by now aware the whole world was potentially in danger once more; he wasn't about to stop for any kind of rest.

"She has to be; I had that vision for a reason, and this is it," the Avatar explained, shaking his head,"I knew something was wrong; the universe just doesn't have a hole torn threw it and resew itself, it's never that easy..."

A breif silence followed.

"...Do you think she's okay? I mean, where ever Katara is right now, Azula's gotta be with her too," Suki broached.

"I _don't_ think we're getting the full scope of this," Zuko started.

"Our sisters were kidnapped by a bunch of evil space monsters; what's not to get?!" Sokka replied.

"It's not just a bunch of monsters; we're talking about coordinated assaults capable of instantaneous transportation to any place on the planet. If the most impregnable fortress there is can be easily subdued in minutes by this entity, what's stopping it from crippling other installations; or even worse: an actual city?"

Another wave of cold for the group's spines.

"And the worst part is that we're probably the only ones who has any idea of what's going on," Suki noted,"As far as everyone else is concerned, they think it could have been an attack by an enemy nation; we need to find out who's responsible for all of this before another war breaks out."

Aang felt similar anguish. Of all the times and dates in the world, why did this event have to occur on _his_ special day? It was obvious that these attacks were directed to him, which goaded the Avatar to speculate mentally what this otherworldly gathering would of gone for if, just if, the boy didn't have anyone close to go after...

* * *

"I suppose you're wondering who I am..." the scientist began, ascending from his chair.

The girls wished they had never demanded to talk to the one in charge of the station, each with their own unbelievable sight to behold: for Katara, the four enormous orbs encircleing the huge stem pillar which served as the main suport for the platform the doctor stood on seemed weird enough; Azula's poise was nonexistent the longer she gazed down at the pink and blue shards of holographic data swirling around below the platform; and while most people would assume that the Blind Bandit'd have little to be astonish about, in reality, the amount of shock Toph was experiencing towered over the combined bewilderment of the other two benders, as she alone could see in a very literal sense the raw power residing within the pillar behind the mysterious fat man. It was the same energy she felt much earlier, only this energy wasn't buzzing: it was flowing.

The doctor didn't seem to notice, having initiated his monologue that he had spent the whole afternoon rehursing, using the monitor as a mirror."I go by many names: Dr. Robotnik, Ivo Robotnik, Dr. Ivo Robotnik... _Dr. Eggman_...," he emphasized, as if that name sounded the most intimidating,"but you may refer to me as _High Emperor EggBotnik Supreme_ , as I plan on taking over your world and everything you hold dear very soon."

It was this declaration that got the attention of the girls.

"The _world_?" Katara repeated.

"Yes, the world; the acoustics in this room are truly dreadful, aren't they?" he retorted, beyond acustomed to such reactions, curling his moustache.

"Y-You can't just take over the entire planet; who do you think you are?" Azula demanded.

 _"I think he thinks he's the guy with the giant space station..."_ Toph murmured.

 _"Right..."_

"Oh, your more than right, little girl," he responded, "If you were taking a test, you would of gotten a B," Eggman congradulated the blind girl.

"Um, okay, what ever a 'bee' means..." Toph shrugged.

"True, I am the one with this station," although, it really wasn't entirely his, but ignorance was bliss," and to be quite honest, this planet doesn't have much to offer, say for few cheap magic tricks."

Azula had heard enough from the old man. "Listen to me, you pompous, overweight letch," she snapped, cutting in front of Katara,"your speaking to one of the greatest firebenders who ever lived. There's nothing cheap about it. Now, hiding behind these petty little machines..."

" _I'm_ not hiding behind anything, you arrogant, pale-skinned harpy, as you can plainly see. If your such an exceptional fire 'bender', then what are you waiting for? Attack me. Melt my little machines like tin foil."

Azula hesitated...

"Of course you wouldn't do anything. Because your scared. Your ignorant; you've know idea who your spewing threats at, or how long your life expectancy will be if you do something stupid, your _highness._ "

Katara spoke up, but calmly, trying to lower the tension" Azula...maybe he's right, we don't know who he is or how we even got up here in the first place..."

"Oh, that's right! Here, I'll show you..." the scientist annouced, pacing back to the terminal and giddily typing away at the keyboard, reactivating all the lights and security cameras. The fire/waterbenders gazed in awe as multiple windows popped up on the large screen, revealing to the two the existence of huge battleships orbiting the station; hallways filled with all types of robots, most notibly the Artifcial Chaos, both patroling the satilite and sweeping away the demolished ones with over-sized brooms and grides; along with many more technologicly impossible features of the ARK, including the Eclipse Cannon.

"Frankly, I'd listen to your friend..." the doctor recommended.

Although Eggman was sure he was consistently ahead of these juvenile heathens, he was also aware of their martial skills; if they made a move, he wondered if he would be fast enough to react. Although he had no direct knowledge of the chemistry behind their elemental powers, Eggman guessed the firebender's power would probably be fueled by eccess radiation, such as the sun; and since this ship was technically powered by a massive nuclear fusion reactor - and since the Space Station wasn't too _far_ from the sun - perhaps he would do well not to underestimate her. Nevertheless, he was armed, surrounded by mechanized body guards armed to the optics with high caliber weapons, and he was sure three girls would be successfully neutralized if they became hostile and made any attempts on his life.

On cue, the Egg Fighter stomped closer to the girls, slowly extending its long arm beyond the water and earthbender, intent on clamping its hand around the firebender's shoulder.

Noticing this, Azula quickly spun around and kicked out a plume in the same instant motion, forcing the girls behind her to drop to the floor again as the robot was blown to pieces by the unusualy large fireball.

Even the former princess slightly moved by her own display"...huh ...don't know my own strength... Come to think of it, I feel awfully energetic all of a sudden; like Ty Lee almost..." she smirked.

The vulnerable scientist swallowed. Perhaps leading the girls so close to the emeralds wasn't such a good idea...

"Now..." she continued, turning back to the doctor,"Why don't we have a little recap about that 'not hiding behind anything' comment..." she hissed, step by step.

"Well, I...er... technicly wasn't behind any-AHA!" he cried, whipping out another strange-looking contraption like a pistol.

The benders were frozen once again; only this time not from fear, just confusion.

"...is... Is that a chicken?" Azula inqiured, though she was close, as the device tightly gripped between Eggman's fingers bared a bizarre likeness to a pokedotted ostrich horse egg with a rooster's head for the barrel.

Regardless, the mad scientist simply grinned, pulling the trigger. The chicken head then opened its "beak", somehow producing a subtle sucking mechanism, which began to grow stronger and stronger until the firebender could just barely keep her footing.

"What? W-What is...wha... WHAAAaa _aaa-!"_ Azula screamed, loosing her center of gravity and instantly devoured within the vacuum-like device.

The water and earth bender's jaws hung unhinged.

Eggman sighed with satisfaction, admiring his own raw genius."Well, that's that. Anyone else wanna stand up to Dr. Eggman?" he inquired, waving the gizmo around.

* * *

The two girls were shoved back into the room, the very same small room from which they first woke up, the door easily re-welded and repaired.

"I hope this conversation of ours has shown you three just how little your chances of escape truly are," Eggman announced, two Egg Gunners at his sides. The doctor then pulled the trigger once again, opening the beak and firing Azula out and in the room as well, the firebender comicly smacking into the wall and plopping on Toph's bed."And thank you again for choosing _Hotel Eggman_." the door descended shut.

The girls tried to collect their heads, so many thoughts and questions still remaining unanswered.

"...Well, at least we know where we are..." Katara remarked, no longer knowing her reason behind her optimism at this point.

"Yeah, that's easy for you to say..." Toph retorted,"you couldn't see the power that guy was controlling..."

"So, wait, you mean you sensed that energy from earlier?"

"No, I saw it; not sensed, _saw_ , with _my_ eyes," the blind girl tried to explain, a look of shock naturaly appearing on the waterbender's face,"And whatever I saw, I just hope the Avatar State is just as powerful, or else the world won't be celebrating peace for long..."

 **Meanwhile, at the capitol...**

The Fire Lord sighed."Alright, I apologize for the inconveinient time of this meeting, but this extremely important..."

"Wait a second," General Tung interrupted,"if this is an official meeting, then why isn't your throne lit with the royal flames..."

"I don't _care_ about the STUPID FLAMES!" Zuko snapped, silencing the seasoned veteran.

"If it's a meeting, then why am _I_ here?" Mai complained.

"BECAUSE-" the monarch haulted, providing himself time to regain his composure; a situation such this required a collected mind,"...because this is that important; the world is at stake, again, and you need to hear this too..." he sternly explained.

"Please proceed, your majesty," Chief Hakoda urged, his son, future daughter in law, the Avatar, and two Earth Kingdom officials remaining quiet.

Zuko took another breath before speaking."Earlier this morning, the Boiling Rock, the most heavily fortified prison complex in the Fire Nation, was stormed and devistated by a band of inhuman, mechanical creatures. Sometime this afternoon, Cheif Hakoda's daughter, Katara, was kidnapped by a single creature of similar anatomy, both events transpiring in mere minutes, disappearing as quickly and mysteriously as they arrived. At first I went ahead and assumed this an attack directed at my nation exclusively, but now I see their target is far broader than one faction; which is why I've assembled you here," he explained,"I'm requesting that you depart to send warnings to the other capitols effective immediately. We don't know where these beings are going to strike next, so it would be a neccessary precaution to have your leaders reinforce their most valuable cites and strongholds in the case of an impending attack. I'm especially concerned with-er... concerned _for_ key cities such as Omashu and the Nothern Water Tribe; if these incidents prove to be the prelude to another conflict, the best case scenario would have these locations prepared..."

"WAIT!... WAIT!" cried an awfully familiar voice as a servant skidded into the room with an object.

The young Fire Lord groaned."Don't tell me: all those cities have fallen too, right?" he replied, fed up with politics.

The servant once again endeavored to catch his breath."...This... item was... found... on the... stairway to... the palace..." he explained, laying the large object before the group and propping his upper half against his knees.

The Avatar gained a skeptical expression."So the first thing you decide to do was carry it all the way to the meeting room? What if it's a bomb!?"

The servant thought hard for a moment, and leaned back down to pick the brown cube-shaped object back up.

"Wait a minute!" Sokka stopped,"that's not a bomb, it's a cardboard box."

"A...cardboard box?" Mai repeated.

"Yeah, see, Teo's dad invented it; it's supposed to be a cheaper, more efficient way of delivering stuff," Sokka explained.

"...Which would suggest it's from the inventor himself," Suki added.

The servant cleared his throat."Um... Did I forget to mention that I saw a small, metallic, floating creature flying away when I found it?"

All eyes were on the nameless man.

"...right, I...suppose I should be leaving now..." he mumbled, slowly tip-toeing out through the curtain.

Zuko turned to Aang, the closest sitting to the box."It must be a message; open it."

Naturally hesitant, the Air Nomad scooted closer and attempted to open the box, clearly struggling to do so.

"What's wrong?" Bato asked.

"I-grh-can't open it, it's sealed with somekind of adhesive material..." the boy grunted,"Anybody got a sharp object?"

At this query, Zuko produced one of his broadswords, Hakoda and Bato took out their bone machetes, the Earth Kindom generals raised their battle knives, and Suki unsheathed her nunjuto.

"I miss my sword..." Sokka mumbled glumly.

Aang took the nunjuto, and carefully split apart the mysterious adhesive (which was actually just a strip of duct tape), opening the package.

The tension among the members was unbearable as the Avatar peared into the cardboard cube.

"...Well?" Zuko inquired.

"Uhhh..." was pretty much the only response the loss-for-words Avatar could generate as he stared down at a box full of little greenish-white bits of fluff. However, unbeknownst to the boy, the fluff was there to ensure the safety of the item beneath...

It was then the most unexpected thing took place: a reflective black dome immediately emerged out from the fluff, causing the member's bodies to tighten with surprise. I was then that an an even more unexpected thing took place: a thin, blue, transparent wall of light shot out of the small dome which spanned a ninety-degree angle, from the entrance up to the ceiling. The wall rotated around the room, scanning the members who each cringed in their own fashion as it passed them, and eventually stopping on a silver piece as it landed on its intended target: Aang.

The wall began to shrink and shrink all the way down to a small, red beam pointing to the young Avatar's forehead, instantly cutting off afterwards.

And it was finally _then_ that the definate most unexpected occurance in the room took place: a white glowing circle appeared at the crown of the dome, where it projected a far less concentrated light, a three dimensional image manifesting out of it...and there he was, a holographic projection of Dr. Eggman, sitting on his chair with his fingers folded.

 _"Well well,"_ the doctor began, unfolding his fingers, _"we meet at last, Avatar Aang..."_

The group was bombarded with raw shock.

"...It's a ghost! Run for your lives!" cried one of the Earth Kingdom nobles, both of them darting from their seats and out of the room screaming.

"...morons..." Mai muttered, indifferent to the very end.

"Who are you, and why have you attacked my country!" the Fire Lord demanded, rising from his seat.

 _"Oh, I'm just a humble inventor looking to setup shop in a new area. In this case: the entire planet."_

"So you're the cause behind the unversal disturbance I've been sensing?" Aang got up,"Was it you who sent that machine to destroy Makapu?"

 _"I don't recall; but if I had, you certainly wouldn't be hear to ask..."_ he replied boastfully.

"You're kidding me, right?" Mai inquired," _This_ is the guy everyone's heading for the hills over? He looks like a giant..."

 _"...A giant, talking egg; yes, I get that..."_ the doctor finished half-heartedly.

"You sure he looks like an egg?" Bato inquired,"The way that gut of his lurches out, it makes'em seem more like a rotten pear..."

It was this observation that sent the doctor off the edge. _"mmpt-d'I wouldn't be making up insults if I were you!"_ he snapped, throwing his finger toward the warrior's face, _"You may have the gall, but I have the girls,"_ he announced, fiddleing with the keyboardand opening a holographic surveilence window of the room containing said girls for the members to see.

"Katara!" impulsively cried the Air Nomad.

 _"Don't bother with that; they can't hear you,"_ he stated flatly, _" don't worry yourselves though, I'm taking good care of them; in fact, I'll be sure to feed them when we're done...eventually..."_

"I believe I asked you who you are..." Zuko restarted.

 _"Oh, right, where'd my manners go?"_ he cleared his throat, _"They call me...Dr. Eggman."_

The whisping curtain offered the only sound in the room.

 _"I know, you're all parylized by my awsomeness,"_ the doctor continued, taking the akward silence the wrong way _,"but I assure you, I am but a man, no different than any of you here...save for my vastly superior intellect that, in comparison with yours, makes this entire inhabitance look like raving neanderthals which, by default, would catagorize myself into a higher level of evolution in general,"_ he explained as if a matter of fact.

As Eggman praised himself, Sokka turned his attention to the screen, concerned for his baby sister. She was just sitting on a bed, supporting her chin on her palms; the waterbender's expression had a severe lack of hope. The warrior noticed to her left another bed with an unfamiliar girl lying on it - he presumed that was Azula - she was clearly unconscous. His pupils retreated to the other side of the room, where they crossed over another bed that looked like it lossed a fight with a fireball, _Wonder where that came from_ , he thought. It was then that Sokka realized his eyes passed something on the way to the scorched mattress; they quickly swung back to Katara, just now seeing a third, smaller girl on the right of his sister, mimicking her position.

 _Wait a sec...is that...?_

"Is that Toph?" he asked aloud.

 _"Pardon?"_

Sokka pointed to the screen."Look, it's Toph; you captured Toph too?"

Everyone followed, including Eggman. _"Why, yes I did; kind of odd how quiet she is, I assumed most earthbenders were loud-mouthed buffoons..."_ he speculated

"Oh my gosh, Toph too?" asked Suki,"Why are you imprisoning these girls? What did the world do to you?"

 _"Firstly, it's what I'm going to do to the world you should be concerned about,"_ Eggman retorted, _"As for girls, they're mainly for incentive purposes..."_

" 'Incentive' ?" Zuko repeated, "If you're as almighty as you've convinced the staff of the Boiling Rock to be, what exactly would someone like you gain from prodding so-called 'inferior beings' with a petty threat?" the Fire Lord inquired.

 _"I was hoping it could be more of a negotiation, really..."_

"You mean like a trade?" Hakoda asked,"Why? What could we have to offer to a man who can be at mutiple points on the planet in a single day?"

The doctor grinned so wide, his moustache was elavated. _"Ah, but that's why we're all here, isn't it?"_

* * *

The doctor gazed sinisterly at the anxious holograms surrounding the bridge to the exit. He got up and paced across the pathway as he spoke. "You see," he began,"When I first made it to your world but a week ago, an unfornate 'accident' lead me to lose a very precious artifact of mine; one of seven, actually: an ivory jewel, that glows like the brightest lanturn," the scientist explained, the holographic Sokka taking a double-take,"It plummeted away from my humble abode all the way down to this planet, where it landed somewhere in this region."

 _"I'm sure there are plenty of diamonds like that in the Earth Kingdom..."_ Zuko suggested, his hologram near the entrance.

 _"None that glow white..."_ Suki replied.

"Exactly,this jewel is incalculably special," Eggman said,"and I feel that my plans of invasion would be too bounded without it."

 _"Okay..."_ Aang exhaled, _"So, if we find this jewel of yours, you'd be willing to exchange Katara, Azula,_ _and_ _Toph for it?"_

"Sounds reasonable enough," Eggman replied.

* * *

"Now wait a blinkin' second!" Bato intervened,"You can't expect us to believe that this stone is simply a lucky charm you like to carry around; otherwise, you wouldn't have threatened us by kidnapping these girls."

"In case you've forgotten, Bato, one of those girls happens to be mine," Hakoda reminded.

"He's right, though," the Fire Lord explained,"If the mere presence of this item could change our fate that easily, it's nowhere near worth three girls...no matter how close they are..." his voice cracked at the last part.

The room seemed to lose temperature as he finished.

 _"So...you're all sure about this assement?"_

"Hold on..." Aang stopped," _I'm_ the Avatar here, I still haven't made up my mind yet," he declared sternly.

 _"Of course, we forgot the most important opinion of all,"_ Eggman apologized, _"So, what's going to go, Avatar Aang: a jewel that can convert thoughts into pure power, or some girl you may or may not be engaged to one day?"_

The boy's edged stare turn dull in seconds: Eggman never mention the properties of the artifact...

The doctor sighed. _"I see the choice is too conflicting for you..."_ the gravity defying hologram pretend-grimaced, pacing back to his chair, taking his seat and crossing his legs, _"Tell you what: how about I come down tomorrow with your women where we can meet in person, say...the Black Cliffs?"_ he suggested, looking at a digitally rendered atlas, _"We'll just stay there until about noon, and if I don't see you anywhere, well, I'll just leave and...well, you'll probably never see them again...but no pressure though; you don't have to give it if to me you don't want to..."_ he patronized.

The Avatar looked away.

 _"Nice to know we've reached an aggreement,"_ Eggman affirmed, making the decision for him, _"I'll see you tomorrow...or not, it's your choice..."_

"Wait!" Aang exclaimed, snapping back to his senses.

The hologram cut off.

* * *

The doctor arose from his seat a second time, stretching.

"Ahhh...I wonder if I should've told them about that whole Metal Sonic-thing..." he pondered, resting his knuckle on his hip, stroking his chin in contemplation,"...Dah, I'm sure they'll figure it out..." he blew it away, walking for the door intent on getting some dinner.

* * *

The air was saturated with cold, metaphysical silence. It was as if the blindsided members had gone deaf for lack of will, especially Aang.

Being the closest to the greif-stricken Avatar, Suki layed her gloved hand on his shoulder in an attempt to brighten the room."It's alright. We'll find a way; you always do," she lulled.

Unfortunately for the young captian, this compassionate gesture was most likely the first and greatest mistake the elite fighter had ever commited, as the boy's tattoos sprung to life with light. Suki backed away as the Avatar's collective power awoke, the air swirling around him.

Sokka's eyes bugged out."EVERYBODY TAKE COVER!"

Not enough time to exit the room, the rest of the members dashed behind the pillars and braced themselves as the berserk Avatar, whaling out countless voices at once, brought down a tumult of air upon the alien device, creating a shockwave spanning the area of the chamber itself... silence followed...

The group peeked around nervously to see if his episode had ended. They saw a still boy kneeling on the floor, his head hung low. Beside him, the atlas was scraped white halfway, the Fire Lord's throne was gone, and it was quite the understatement to say the candles were blown out, as the side of the pillars receiving Aang's breif rath were pressed inward slightly.

Aang stared down at the impression in the floor where a no longer existent mechanism once lay. He turned to his friends."...I totally lost it, didn't I?" he asked quietly.

"...kinda'..." Sokka peeped.

The boy made an exhale somewhere between a sigh and a grunt."It's like he doesn't even want the thing; like all this chaos he's been causing is just one convoluted birthday present..."

"He probably thinks we've already found it," speculated Hakoda.

"Yeah but, should we actually give it to him? According to him, this jewel turns thoughts into power, and he seems to want it badly..." dicussed Suki.

"Is the kid done with his moodswing? I had my ears covered..." Mai popped out.

"He also implied he had six more," reminded Zuko,"I guess that's how he was able to traverse across the world so easily..." he deduced, walking over to a broken piece of the device and picking it up, staring into the blurred reflection,"Armies, weapons, all sorts of monsters and natural disasters conjured up by a mere mental adjustment. If one could make that happen..." he stopped; the Fire Lord didn't even want to think of what celestial nightmare would be realized if this madman attained all seven...

Sokka seemed to be getting more nausious, supporting his body with the pillar he hid behind.

"He mentioned something about 'our world'...like, he wasn't even born on this planet..." Aang recalled.

"Perhaps he wasn't," suggested Bato,"I mean think about it, this guy doesn't seem like he's from around here, or anywhere for that matter..."

"If there's anything modern astronomy has taught us," the Fire Lord began,"the universe is a lot bigger than our fathers thought it was; like the sun, for example: man used to think the sun revolves around us; the exact opposite is true. We're going to have to widen our gaze a bit if we can ever hope to think on his level."

"But how would we do that?" the warrior inquired,"How _could_ we do it? If we're all just a bunch of animals compared to this guy, how would we ever be able to find the jewel in the first place? We don't even know what the blasted rock looks like!"

 _"I do..._ "

The whole room was silent once more,all of the members turning their attention to the ominus and most unexpected source all: Sokka, his free hand tighten to a fist, facing down with his eyes shut.

"What did you say?" Aang inquired, forcing his already distraught brain to not just hope, but assume he was just hearing things. The Air Nomad would rather it be he himself gone insane rather than so much as conceive the concept of his best friend since Appa, actually withholding a revelation of universal proportions from the only individual who could hope to mend such a catastrophe.

But it was true, It was nobody's imagination; the voice belonged to Sokka, who seemed just tormented as he raised his head to speak further, but masked it with the deepest look of determination the Water Tribe teen's worn since the Battle of Wulong Forest.

"I know because...I know the one who can find it..."


	7. Cannon's Core Part 1

_Even further strange, the legless creature extended both its arms at the unsuspecting Toph. Suddenly, a yellow ball of pure light manifested between its palms._

 _"...Aang?..."_

 _"KID, LOOK OUT!"_

 _Toph gasped, and quickly jerked up a rock slab at the last second. The entire stage was engulfed in fire-born smoke..._

 _*FLASH*_

 _"...An unofficial report has come from the Boiling Rock. The facility has just been..." he panted still,"...raided."_

 _"Raided? By who?" The Fire Lord demanded._

 _*FLASH*_

 _"All inmates are accounted for, mi-..." the messenger haulted, then forcefully swallowed his fear,"...minus one..."_

 _A gallon of horror played all over his face, for no one had to inform the young monarch that the one in question was not simply some random theif, arsonist, or even a former terrorist: it was her._

 _Get out..." Zuko hissed._

 _*FLASH*_

 _"Today's your birthday?!" Katara vocalized rather loudly._

 _The Avatar immediately shot his hands toward her as a sign to lower her voice."Sssshhhh! Will you keep it down?! The whole world doesn't have to know!" he yell/whispered._

 _*FLASH*_

 _"LET HER GO!" Aang roared, spinning a full three hundred and sixty degrees and sending a liquid missle straight for its head; however, in the blink of an eye, the thing vanished in an almost imperceptible flash of bluish-green with his girlfriend altogether, the projectile slamming into the roof shingles instead, followed by an abrupt silence..._

 _*FLASH*_

 _"What's going on? Where are we?" demanded the young waterbender._

 _The former princess was frozen in her tension for a moment, but sighed as she let her fireing arm go limp."Of course," she muttered,"Just go right ahead and assume that I have somehow kidnapped you out of the clear blue sky, and imprisoned you within some random fortress; I mean, why else would I be trapped in here to, right?" she inquired sarcasticly._

 _Katara was momentarily thrown off guard by her comment, logic sinking in a second and a half later,"...Oh, well sorry, I didn't-"_

 _"Well, you should've," Azula snapped,"There are other bad people in the world besides me, believe ot not..."_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"...We need to look further into this," Aang announced to the group, getting up from his seat and facing them,"Katara's somewhere in trouble, and we can't stop the search no matter what, not for any other emergency."_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"Are you saying that," Suki began,"they literally just manifested themselves, destroyed the place, then dissappeared into thin air?"_

 _The warden nodded,"...both times in a breif flash of light; greenish I think..."_

 _"Just like Katara..." the young Avatar mumbled,stopping comepletely,"I knew it! There is a connection!" he shouted, walking off and leaning on the rail._

 _*FLASH*_

 _" 'Space station' ?" Toph repeated,"You mean station... in SPACE?"_

 _"Well, what do you know, I was just on the verge of thinking about you..." Dr. Eggman began slowly, revolving around and revealing himself to the fire, water, and earthbenders._

 _*FLASH*_

 _"MY SISTER'S IN OUTER WHERE?" Sokka exclaimed._

 _"She has to be; I had that vision for a reason, and this is it," the Avatar explained._

 _*FLASH*_

 _The servant once again endeavored to catch his breath."...This... item was... found... on the... stairway to... the palace..." he explained, laying the large object before the group..._

 _*FLASH*_

 _"Who are you, and why have you attacked my country!" the Fire Lord demanded, rising from his seat._

 _"Oh, just a humble inventor looking to setup shop in a new area. In this case: the planet."_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"You see," he began,"When I first made it to your world but a week ago, an unfornate 'accident' lead me to lose a very precious artifact of mine; one of seven, actually: an ivory jewel, that glows like the brightest lanturn," the scientist explained, the holographic Sokka taking a double-take,"It plummeted away from my humble abode all the way down to this planet, where it landed somewhere in this region."_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"Okay..." Aang exhaled,"So, if we find this jewel, you'd be willing to exange Katara, Azula, and Toph for it?"_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"What's going to go, Avatar Aang?: a jewel that can convert thoughts into power, or some girl you may or may not be engaged to one day?"_

 _*FLASH*_

 _"We're going to have to widen our gaze a bit if we can ever hope to think on his level," Zuko said._

 _"But how would we do that?" the warrior inquired,"How could we do it? If we're all just a bunch of animals compared to this guy, how would we ever be able to find the jewel in the first place? We don't even know what the blasted rock looks like!"_

 _"I do..."_

 _"What did you say?" Aang inquired._

 _*FLASH*_

 _But it was true, It was nobody's imagination; the voice belonged to Sokka, who seemed just tormented as he raised his head to speak further, but masked it with the deepest look of determination the Water Tribe teen's worn since the Battle of Wulong Forest._

 _"I know because...I know the one who can find it."_

 _*FLASH*_

* * *

 **Book Four:**

 **Metal**

 **Chapter Six:**

 **The Search for the Chaos Emerald**

A rock burst through the wooden blind doors of a window.

The citizens screamed as a horde of renegade Earth Kingdom soldiers raided the once peaceful city of Yu Dao.

Whole structures were leveled to rubble by the combined effort of crazed earthbenders.

Runaway wagons flew across the streets.

Men and women were invaded and assaulted in their own apartments and thrown out of two-story buildings.

Elders and novice firebenders fought back as bravely as they could, as useless as it was; even earthbenders born and raised in the city itself had joined in on the chaos.

One middle-aged earthbender with long, haggard beard and receding hairline stomped the ground and forced a column of rock to launch a man far into the air and screaming down onto a vegetable cart (which thankfully had no cabbages in it).

"Nice one, Gow!" cheered on of the other raiders.

"You think that's good, just wait till I get my hands on the mayor..." replied Gow.

"Wait! Stop!" called a voice from above, catching the attention of a few thugs.

They looked up to see a portly man in expensive clothing leaning on the rails of a balconey."Please, you must stop this senseless violence!" he pleaded.

"Well, whadda' ya know, boys? Just the man we're lookin' for...!" Gow announced, taking out his welding hammer and conjuring a stone to eye-level, quickly thwacking it with his hammer and sending it flying toward the balconey, smashing some of its supports, and causing the platform to collapse with Mayor Morishito on it, the man tumbling into the streets before Gow.

Spears were pointed at the mayor as he attempted to get up; he turned and watched the vandals ruthlessly drag his beloved wife and daughter outside. The girl broke free of her hold long enough to come at the captor with the kitchen knife, only for the laughing henchmen to grab her knife-holding wrist, snatch it from her grasp and shove her face first on the ground with her mother.

"No! Kori!" the mayor cried, turning to the leader woefully."Why are you doing this?"

"What do you mean?" cracked Gow,"We just figured we ought to show you the same hospitality that your people showed us," he explained, placing his hand his chest innocently,"Namely storming our villages and burning them to the ground," he fingerd his beard thoughtfully,"Of course for the lack of firebenders, we'll just have to settle with burying them; I'm sure it'll reap the same results..." he and the others chuckled.

"B-But, the War is over! L-Listen to me, what you're doing is pointless; if you and your men have a problem, you should seek a meeting with the Fire Lord or, or the Avatar! It is his duty to..."

"Oh, but I wouldn't dare interrupt the 'higher powers' during their little 'peace tours', would we, boys?" they shook theirs heads sarcasticly,"Such a shame that they're so busy covering the world with pretty rugs that they haven't found the time to actually attend to a few important matters, like the colonies, starting with the oldest one of all, perhaps?" he gestured to the city that surrounded them.

"I won't let you!" Kori shouted, springing to her feet and bending a rock at Gow, who deflected it with his hammer and caused the girl's right shin to sink under the surface.

"Aren't you a fiesty one?" the leader joked,"And here I was thinking I was never going to get to use this thing..." he lamented as he paced over to the teen, his weapon boasted.

"NO! Take me instead!" Morishito cried out, the thugs restraining him and his struggling wife.

"I would have, but taking you out would be just another casualty," Gow explained,"Now this on the other hand..." he started, seizing the girl by her hair,"...would be a pretty big message to the Fire Lord." Gow jerked the girls head back so that he could look her in the eyes, and vice-versa."And that message is..." he raised the hammer above his head,"You're not welcome here!"

Suddenly, a gust of wind picked up around group, which gradually began circling the area as if it were being bent; it soon turned into a full-blown twister.

"What's goin' on?" asked one of the henchmen stupidly.

"Is it the Avatar?" wondered the mayor's wife.

That theory was quickly dispersed as the cyclone intensified; and strangely enough, gaining a continually growing hint of blue that seemed to illuminate it...

The wind instantly dispersed as a short figrure appeared out of nowhere standing atop a light post with his arms cross and his spiky back turned; he turned toward the leader, revealing the grinning face of a familiar anthropomorphic hedgehog."The man of the hour has arrived!"

Kori gasped."The Blue Spirit!" she realized.

Gow on the other hand was, like the others, at a total loss for words, his large hammer slowly slipping from his loose grip and falling onto his bare foot; his whole body jolted back to reality as he hopped around clutching his swelling foot and muttering various colorfull terms to himself."ggrr-g-Get him!"

The only bender not dumbfounded enough to comply summoned and hurled a rock at the figure, who lept high in the air as the light post was destroyed.

"Bring it on!" Sonic cried as he somersaulted and curled into a ball and dashed for the men.

Sonic home-attacked three earthbenders and touched down, spinning one leg out and toppling a fourth one. He sped away and started tripping more thugs throughout the city before they even knew what hit them, leaving them vulnerable to the defenders.

The hedgehog then sped back to the previous spot, easily avoiding the rocks thrown at him by the Gow and the thugs. Sonic purposely stopped in front of Gow and taunted another soldier.

"I got'em, boss!" he announced as he quickly prepared a rock to throw.

"Wait! Nononononon-!" the Gow pleaded with his hands waving, realizing the vector the rock would have, right before the hedgehog zipped away at the last second, the chunk of earth hitting a tad more below the belt than the leader would have liked...

Sonic, the thugs, the mayor, and even his wife cringed in empathy as the leader doubled over in agony, curling inward with his hands cupped between his legs.

The hedgehog darted over to Kori, sweeping her off her feet, as he carried her in his arms."Sonic's the name; speed's my game!" he recited before taking off, whisking the girl to safety.

"...get...him..." Gow sputtured, pointing a shaky finger to the direction Sonic went.

The remaining two nodded, elevating the earth below their feet and using it as platforms to slide away on after the hedgehog. But out of nowhere, their platforms halted in place, sending them flying into the same vegetable cart that a victim just crawled out of.

"Hah!" he gloated, pointing to them.

The mayor's wife remained in her earthbending stance for a few more seconds."They're not getting anything..." she declared, helping her husband up.

"Thank you, dear," Morishita said,"Now, we can turn the tide of this chaos..."

Sonic sped up the roof of a tall building, gently setting the girl on her feet.

"There, this should be safe enough." he decided, crossing his arms.

The astonished Kori bowed in respect."Thank you, kind spirit," she gratified.

"Oh, don't thank me yet; I still got some work to do..." the hedgehog replied, turning around and running off the roof top."It's time for some spring-cleaning!" he cried as he twirled in the air, coming down onto the foes...

* * *

Azula slowly awakened, rubbing her forehead. She turned her attention to the status of the room: Katara and Toph were sitting on the middle bed quietly, and the door was clearly unscathed.

"Huh, must've dozed off again..." the former princess presumed,"I had another weird dream to..." she began,"I dreamt we made it out of the room, only to realize we were in outer space, then some metal gorilla took us to this huge pillar, and we met this egg-shaped man who said he was going to take over the world...and then a chicken ate me...So, did I miss anything?"

"Dinner Tiiiime!" sang Eggman's voice through the intercom, a slot popping out on the wall of each bed, each one carrying a toasted cucumber sandwitch cut in diagonal halves.

"...never mind then..."

The waterbender sighed, got up, and paced over to the firebender."Are you okay?"

"Well, I do have a bit of a headache but-"

*slap*

"-ow!"

"What is wrong with you!?" Katara exclaimed,"How could you just throw our lives on the table like that? What, were you trying to 'commendeer' the whole space fortress or something?" she demanded.

Azula rolled her eyed as she rubbed her cheek."I was trying to gain even ground against him, so we could make a deal..."

"Even ground? WHAT EVEN GROUND!? 'Dr. Eggman' is probably sitting in his chair, laughing to himself about how someone could even think they're on par with him! This station alone makes the Fire Nation look like the Foggy Swamp Tribe!"

"Oh please, there's not one thing this man has that the Fire Nation invented a decade ago; it's simply, well, on a larger scale is all. I doubt this place even belongs to him..." the firebender replied whilst picking up her "dinner" and taking a bite out of it,"...mm, cucumber..."

The waterbender couldn't believe her eyes."Ugh, you've lost your mind!" she declared, stomping back to Toph's bed as her subconscious inquired what her first clue was.

The Bandit lied on her bed properly with her left arm folded under her head, eating her sandwitch." 'Think your dinner's on the other bed..." she reminded.

"I'm not hungry..." Katara replied, lying paralled to the blind girl,"I don't get it; if he wants to take over the world, why doesn't he just do it already? He could probably pull it off overnight."

"Yeah, I stopped questioning stuff a long time ago, makes life simpler..." Toph said, taking another bite.

"If he has to imprison us, could he atleast've taken Sokka too? Atleast he would have gotten a kick out of those machines that could waterb-" the girl paused, an oven timer going off in her head,"...I ...am going...TO-"

* * *

"-KILL YOU!" Hakoda roared,"You mean to tell me that some spirit was helping you fool us into thinking you were a waterbender, that it knew about this spaceman and what he wanted, and you let it bury the evidence!? Why, Sokka!? How could you lie to your family like this!?"

Aang sat in his spot, his head lowered; Zuko was still staring at the shard of technological wonder, thinking deeply; Mai leaned behind one column, doing what she does best; Suki stood near the end of the room, her eyes closed and not even facing her boyfriend.

"B-But I wasn't lying! I didn't know about all of this! Not the space guy! Or why those machines attacked us! I was just trying to keep the...the what-ever-it-was from being discovered by them! I tried to tell you about him before, but he kept pretending to be waterbendering, so I...I just went with it! I thought once the emerald was gone, that would be it! No more broken universe!" the son of Hakoda tried to explain, sitting on the floor with his back to another pillar.

Bato scoffed."Well, it would've been nice to know that someone close and trusted had a run-in with a couple elemental demons and a magic rock that could decide the fate of the whole world! For that matter, how do you even know its name at all?" The veteran demanded.

"Because the machine asked me! It would've blown me to bits and I didn't even know what it was talking about!"

"Oh, okay, Sokka, so the machine could talk now?" his father queried.

"You guys are acting like you would've believed him..." the Avatar spoke up.

Hakoda turned towards the speaker."Are you telling me how to raise my son?"

Aang's position persisted."Sokka could have told all of us, but you would of laughed at him, or thought he was as crazy as I was. Even if he did tell the truth ealier, we still wouldn't have been prepared for this. Whether we knew before or now what's going on would not have made a difference, and nothing have changed. If we all die tomarrow, it'll be while knowing there was not one thing that could've prepared us for what happened, so quit blaming someone else because of your own ineptness!" the Air Nomad said it like a straight up earthbender.

Silence.

The chief seemed so charged full of anguish and denial, his fingers tightened around the handle of his machete, and before anyone else could react, he spun around and slammed the bone blade against the column so hard, it snapped in half; the hallway was burdened with its cold echo.

The man dropped his weapon, and fell to his knees. It was then that the teen warriror saw something in his father that not even Bato had seen for over twenty years: teardrops, streaming down from the chief's eyes.

"...please... save my daughter...I can't go through this again..."

At that moment, something jogged the Fire Lord back to awareness."I just had an epiphany... Aang, Sokka, come with me, there's something I need to show you," Zuko announced, tossing away the shard and leaving for the exit.

Sokka and Aang hesitantly complied.

Before making it through the drapes, the former waterbender took one more look at Suki, who was turned the other way."I'll fix this; I promise..." he said.

The Kyoshi Warrior ressisted the erge to turn around."...just go..." she mumbled.

Sokka blinked, and left in slight disappointment.

* * *

"...sssooo... Sokka cheated?" Toph asked for confirmation.

"You're darn right he cheated!" the enlightened waterbender continued, pacing around the room like a caged animal, rubbing her hands excessively, "I knew he he wasn't a bender; he can't even bend a spoon, that cheating, cheater...cheat-face!" she struggled for the appropriate fake term.

"And that's why you're angry?" the firebender inquired, raising a brow.

Katara spun around."Uhhhh, yeah! Why else would I be pacing around the room like a caged animal, rubbing my hands excessively?" she replied, briefly increasing her rate of hand rubbing for emphasis, as she was most likely formulating some manner of dispicable deed that Gran Gran would probably rebuke.

"...Because, if I were to acertain the notion that Zuko used some firebending-enhancing contraption during our last duel, I would've been less miffed by the means and more focus toward the condition..."

"Do you talk just so you can show off your vocabulary?" Katara retorted.

The former princess rolled her eyes sighing; she hoped she wouldn't have to be the one to break this down for the naive peasant."Let's see if we can convert this into a simple logic puzzle," she arose from her bed,"Ember Island is down there, the 'waterbending machines' are up here, with several dozens miles of nothing in-between," she took a step closer,"and you have Sokka, an intelligent and well meaning lad from the Southern Water Tribe, who's insecurity among his skilled friends is only rivaled by his ability to keep secrets," she took two steps closer, tapping her chin,"Now, we ourselves are still unsure of the method utilized to and from this station; and, as far as we have witnessed, may only be accessible by our special host..."

"So what're you saying?" the Water Chief's daughter demanded.

"She's saying that somebody had to conveniently put it on Ember Island on purpose, at a specific time where another somebody would conveniently stumble upon it," Toph translated.

The waterbender's gaze shifted between the two captives, the logic puzzle finally solved."...y-You two can't be serious I...why would...how could you even..."

"Hey, I'm not pointin' any fingers-"

"I am," Azula countered sharply,"in fact, I'm just crazy enough to think that that pony-tailed cretin not only knew this was going to happen, but personaly selected us as the hostages..."

"Shut up..." Katara uttered weekly, crossing her arms and turning away.

"Really, you can't deny the odds of it being us in particular out of any noble or political figure on the planet. Dr. Robotnik could've taken King Bumi, my brother, or even the Avatar himself in addition - just as easily - but no," she spreads her hands, drawing closer,"just us, the three people who just happened to have mocked a certian meat-loving skeptic more than anyone else," she was now three feet away from the waterbender,"Think about it, think about how deep this could be: months ago, even before the War ended, all this could have been planned out..." she finished slowly.

"Shut up or I'll make you shut up!" Katara cried.

Not even remotely intimidated, Azula's dramatic demeanor vanished."Fine," she replied, letting her arms go limp,"go ahead and stay in your happy little state of complete denial; it worked for Ba Sing Se just fine," the former princess lamented insensitively, pacing back to her bed and scooting under the covers,"All I ask is that when you get launched into deep space, your brother's power driven eyes the last thing you see, just remember - the evil phycho princess tried to warn you."

At the end of the dialogue, the water found her standing frozen in the middle of the room, her arms still crossed, and actually ruffled them tightly, the sudden coldness settling in.

* * *

The renegades were rounded up by the authorities; as soon as the violence had dissolved, the town's people cheered for their furry, blue savior.

Sonic was sitting atop a steel statue of Avatar Roku in the middle of the town square, basking in the praise.

"It's over. Thank you, Sun-nek, this battle would've costed us so much more if it weren't for you..." Kori thanked, looking up at him meaningfully.

"It'd be nothing compared to what I and your father could've lost, Kori..." the girl's mother added, resting her hand on her shoulder; they hugged.

Two officers ran up to them."Mrs. Morishita! Your husband is missing!" one them spouted.

The two turned towards them with suprised faces; Sonic also looked down at this information."Missing? Wasn't he right around here a couple o' minutes ago?" he inquired, kicking off the statue's shoulder and touch down seemlessly as usual.

"Have you searched for him?" the wife questioned.

"He was last seen around here, but we were too distracted by the fighting; the rebel's leader is gone too..." the second officer explaind.

"Oh no..." Kori understood,"He must've fled with Father as a hostage!" she announced tearfully; she started to sniffle.

Sonic walked over to her."Don't cry, Elise..." he soothed, placing his gloved hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I just-Wait, what did you call me-?"

"Nobody!" the hedgehog hastily replied as he retracted his hand, realizing his Freudian slip.

A brief and awkward glance at Sonic...

"There has to be some evidence of where they went; he couldn't just drag him along in broad daylight," the mayor's wife considered.

Sonic's shifting eyes caught sight of something suspicious."Hey look! There's a pile of dirt right around where I jumped the leader!" he pointed to the pile just before the city hall, in attempt to take the focus off of him without anyone realizing it.

They huddled around the artificial pile.

"That scoundrel must of used his earthbending to tunnel underground. If only there were a way we could track him," the mayor's wife said.

Kori was thoughtful for a moment."...I think I know a way..." she started, pacing around the dirt pile,"I've been practicing a technique that allows an earthbender to sense vibrations though the ground; maybe if I try hard enough, I can find a path underground that will lead us to Father," she speculated.

"Well, it's worth a shot; give it a try," Sonic encouraged.

The novice earthbender closed her eyes and took a deep breath; she assumed an iron-horse stance, lifted one leg, and stomped her foot on the fround, waiting for the earth to respond to her...

Without opening her eyes or turning her head, she pointed westward."There's a distortion of earth trailing in that direction."

Sonic snapped his fingers."Alright then, I'll jet down that way and see what I can find! Don't you worry, Korra, I'll find your dad!" the hedgehog gave a thumbs up, got into a sprinter's postition and dashed down the street, speeding far out of the city limits.

Korri raised an eyebrow. "Korra?"

* * *

A little while later, the three boys were walking down a narrow underground tunnel, lit by the Fire Lord himself; the path was supported with wooden beams, signifying how old it was.

"Where are we going, Zuko?" the Avatar inquired.

"Don't worry, we're almost there..." the monarch reassured.

"Did you see my dad back there? I've never seen him so...broken, so...helpless...guess it must run in the family..." Sokka added, trapped somewhere between guilt and empathy.

"You're not helpless, Sokka," Zuko responded,"in fact, we all would've ended up like that if it wasn't for your run-in with that creature you were talking about. Speaking of which, you told me that thing-"

"It wasn't a _'thing'_ ," Sokka suddenly snapped.

"Of course not. Anyway, you said it was able to fake waterbending for you, and that it must've had this 'Chaos Emerald' the whole time. I wondering: when you got close to him, close enough to see the emerald I mean, was there some kind of...side-effect that was worth remembering? I mean, did you feel anything?"

The former waterbender allowed the question to fertilize in his brain for a moment."...Well, I don't remember feeling anything then, but, I do remember something during the duel..." he recalled,"when I was fighting Katara, I felt better than before - stronger, faster; I hit the rock she was standing on with my heel so hard, it chipped off a little, and it didn't hurt at all. And even after that, when that...what ever it was still had the emerald, he was twice as tall as he was after he got rid of it. That's all."

"I see, so the Chaos Emerald made you stronger the same way Sozin's Comet makes firebending stronger..." Zuko deduced,"Thanks Sokka; that'll be good to know once we find it..."

The Avatar popped out of his bubble of conviction."Uh, I'm sorry, but when you said that thing about finding the emerald, you made it sound kind of _possible_. I'm pretty sure the monster knew what he was doing when he threw it into the ocean; ya'know, 'never to found again'? Speaking of which, Sokka, where is the monster now?"

The not-waterbender slouch and groaned. "That was the _other_ thing I was going to tell you: remember when I said my 'waterbending' was disappearing? That was because the whatever-it-was just left ealier today; I have no idea where it is..." he explained,"probably somewhere pretending to be someone else's waterbending..." he rolled his eyes.

The trio finally stopped in front of a large metal door, with a small slot on the side.

The Fire Lord smiled, removing his royal headpiece.

"Let me guess: another Fire Nation secret?" Sokka inquired.

"Well, not _t_ _op_ secret, but secret enough..." Zuko replied, inserting the piece into the apparent keyhole, turned it counter-clockwise, then after a _click_ , clockwise - another _click_. The sound of various spinning cogs and shifting gears could be heard. Timing it just right, the Fire Lord pulled out the headpiece, the door(s) splitting apart a moment later, revealing to the two a huge underground dock - lit by two enormous torches on each side - complete with one river boat, and a full work force.

 _"wow..."_ Aang mumbled.

"Who'd of thought this place was down here?" Sokka wondered.

"Six hundred years ago, Fire Lord Kazuya discovered this cove and made it into an emergency escape system during the Scourge of Heihachi. He never had to use it though, but it's been maintained and monitored to this day regardless," Zuko explained.

As Aang and Sokka observed, the port was outstretched around the cove, surrounding the spacious pool of water between the boat and the narrow exit. Workmen were hauling debris up from the surface via long nets, and dropped into metal carts, which were push on a track through a tunnel on either side of the entrance, probably to dump the debris into a nearby magma pit.

"I KNEW IT! There IS a secret entrance into the Fire Lord's palace!" Sokka beamed.

As he observed this endless cycle, the Avatar realized something."Hang on, if the tunnel we just came through was the only entrance, how do these guys get out?" he inquired to Zuko, who looked away.

"Actually, they don't. The workmen you see actually live down here; most of these people have been here a very long time..." the Fire Lord iluminated sheepishly.

One of the somewhere-above-middle-aged workers stopped to see the arrivals."Hey, that's a pretty authentic Air Nomad outfit you got there," he remarked, he then turned to Zuko, and gasped."My goodnes! Prince Ozai, what happened to your eye!" he exclaimed in shock.

"And why are you wearing the Fire Lord's headpiece?" queried another worker."Oh, Fire Lord Azulon won't be happy when he finds out..." the man shook his head as he resumed pushing his cart.

"Ozai" leaned closer to Sokka. _"The_ _decision to inform the staff is still up for debate..."_

The Air Nomad rolled his eyes."Back to the subject: how is some secret boat going to help us save the universe?"

Zuko folded his arms behind him."You see, a chief liability with this dock is that it's prone to oceanic debris flowing in and clogging the escape route, which is why it has to attended to so thoroughly."

"This cave's not gettin' any brighter, Zuko..." Sokka urged on.

"A couple oceanographers allowed to be in on the secret speculate that most of the debris originates from the _general northwest._ "

The young Avatar finally caught on."So you think the Chaos Emerald might've flowed in from Ember Island?"

The Fire Lord nodded."I know it's a stretch, but's the one chance we've got if we're going to save the girls."

"Zuko, your logic is off; even if the emerald was here, it was probably disposed of like the rest of the garbage!" Sokka pointed out.

"I'm aware of that, I'm also aware that if we don't try everything, one-hundred years of fighting and bloodshed will have gone in vain, for _either side_. Now listen, I need the two of you to tell these workers you have the Fire Lord's clearance to halt progress so that they can begin searching the cove for the Chaos Emerald. I'll be fortifying the palace incase this Eggman tries to go back on his deal - remember: he thinks we have it. And if it turns out we do, head for the royal bunker immediately to let me know."

As Zuko turned around to leave, the Avatar chirped as if he were about to say something. The Fire Lord noticed this, partialy turning back.

"Hm? Oh, nothing," Aang said, rubbing the back of his neck,"It just seems like...well, that you're a bit more focused on finding this emerald than your sister..."

"Aang, didn't you hear what Sokka said? It made him as strong as a komodo rhino without even touching it; that's an item I would prefer to have for myself."

Aang's concerned gaze never faltered.

The former enemy sighed."You know what I mean. Just find it, alright?"

With that, the young ruler departed, and Sokka and Aang (with a hint of hesitation) carried out his orders.

* * *

As the sun set on the dry wasteland, Sonic continued along the mountain trail, trying to find any sign of the mayor or the crazy earthbender.

He skidded to a halt as he heard voices in the distance; Sonic zipped into the nearest bush and peeked his eyes (or one big eye, whatever you want to call it) out.

The earthbender known as Gow had the mayor by his collar, and was dragging him to the side of the mountain, which was oddly guarded by a pair of earthbenders.

"Is that who I think it is!?" one earthbender exclaimed.

"Change of plans, boys," Gow started,"we keep the mayor as our prisoner, and sell'em back for a huge ransom. We'll need the money for more supplies and weapons."

Sonic watched the men nod turn to the mountain. They used their earthbending to cause the wall of stone to slide down, revealing an entrance to a secret cave. Gow entered with the mayor in tow, and the earthbenders sealed the entrance.

The blue hedgehog backed into the bush and rubbed his nonexistent chin in thought. He wondered if he could boost through that wall with enough force; of couse then he'd be wasting a lot of ring energy to do so. He'd spent a great deal of that energy to survive his crash landing onto this world, and wasn't sure how much he had left after that. The better option would be to save what ever amount of energy he had, and figure out a way to get those guys to open the door for him.

Sonic chuckled - this was gonna be just like the good ol' days...

* * *

Ten minutes followed, and reinforcement procedure had begun.

Military personnel scrambled throughout the palace city, escorting various nobles and other aristocrats as calmly as possible to airships that would take them to Ember Island for the night. The turrets surrounding the main entrance to the island itself were prepped and loaded as other defences were prepared. Squadrons of fire, water, and earthbenders assembled along the main entrance and prepared themselves for some kind of attack. Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom tanks and soldiers on various warbeasts rode in through every street and plaza until the entire dormant volcano was secured. The bay of the capitol was protected by a blockade of battle ships from the Fire Nation and Water Tribes, with submersible ships patrolling underneath. The sky was alive with a ring of airships that slowly spun over head.

Zuko, Hakoda, General Tsung, and Mai beheld this from just outside the main hall.

"So much for world peace..." the goth lamented.

"Only this time, it's the whole world at war against a common enemy." Hakoda noted.

"If only our ancestors could see this..." Tsung marveled.

"I know these measures won't make a difference," the Fire Lord predicted," but I'm not about to give up without a fight either," he boldly declared.

"Yeah, sure, just like what the knife says," Mai dissmissed,"Anyway, I don't mean to break character, but it's pretty nice of you to let me and my family stay in the Fire Lord's bunker for the night," she gratified, actually cracking a small smile.

At this complement, Zuko's normally stoic expression disappeared." ...what now?"

Mai's smile dropped."You know, you said we could spend the night in your bunker as a precaution...you did say that, right?" she inquired.

The sheepish monarch looked off in another direction, scratching his neck."Oh, that, well, see, what I meant was that...you and I would be staying in my bunker - alone - and that your family would be in the uh...other bunker..." he explained.

Mai grew confused."Other bunker?"

Hakoda and Tsung's eye swiveled back and forth between the two teenagers.

"Yes, there's another bunker," he nodded.

Mai's blank expression returned."You mean, Azula's bunker?"

"The one she used during the eclipse, yes."

Mai's expression lost even more emotion."You mean the fake bunker?"

"Duh, well, it's far from being a fake one, but..."

"You mean the less secure, more obvious to the enemy, more vulnerable bunker that was really meant to be a decoy bunker while the Fire Lord and who ever else given loved one are safely concealed behind a secret stairway the whole time? That bunker?"

"...th...the same," Zuko confirmed, finally catching on.

Mai's face had now acheived its zeneth of deadness."...Yeah, I'm out of here," she replied, walking away in any direction that wasn't her former boyfriend's.

The Fire Lord urgently waved his hand for the girl to turn around."Wait, Mai! You're taking this out of proportion! I mean, with your parents preoccupied, we could let our relationship develop more naturaly!"

"Out. Of. Here." she emphazised.

"er-Okay, so 'preoccupied' was the wrong word but...Mai! Come back!" The Fire Lord slapped his forehead; it seem as if his life was flipping more upside-down by the hour.

Tsung frowned."Okay, maybe our ancestors didn't need to see that..."

* * *

The two earthbenders continued to guard the secret entrance. all of a sudden, they heard a squeaking sound in the distance. They prepared themselves far attack, only to see a strange sight clear the forest...

It was some short figure, cloaked in a brown garb, his face covered by a comically large straw hat. He was pulling a crate full of rocks towards them.

"Who the heck are you!?" one guard asked.

"Ahhhh, I'm glad you asked, young man..." the short man spoke, sounding like, or at least trying to sound like an old man with a thick Asian accent."I am Shi Foo Shang, owner of Shi Foo Shang's Rare Mineral Emporium Inc. As the name suggest, I am a collector of various rare stones and minerals from around the world. Come along, view may magnificent collection." He gestured with his large sleeves to the cart full of rocks.

The guards looked at eachother, and cautiously paced over to the cart, picking up a few stones and scanning them for any significance.

"These look like just a pile of ordinary rocks." the other guard dismissed.

The little man chuckled, then coughed a bit, his voice changing for a second."Why of course they do. To the untrained eye, any rock look ordinary, but to seasoned rock salesman such as myself, I can say for certain each of these stones are really, really special. For example, that particular rock you're holding is actually a chunk of Kryptonite; it causes instant paralyses!"

The guard immediately dropped the stone.

The short man then picked a random rock out of the pile without even looking."This rock is made out of solid Adamantium - it is completely unbreakable!"

The rock was quickly yank out of his hands and crushed to pieces.

"...er, when it is melted down into metal, that is..."

"You can't melt rocks down into metal!" the guard grunted.

"So you say, grasshopper," the supposedly old man replied."But through a complex geo-thermal process, it can! If you were to let me inside your cave, I can show you."

The two guards gasped.

"How did you know about the cave!?"

The short person shifted his head (or hat) in multiple directions, lengthening the tension."...ummmmm,well, You guys are earthbenders, right? It only makes sense that you two are guarding a cave that you hid with your earthbending, yes?"

The first guard tapped his chin for a moment."hmmmm...Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Indeed it does!" the short man agreed."Now come on and open up! I've got rocks to sell!"

The two guards look at eachother again and shrugged; they opened the entrance and guided the little man with his cart inside.

"heh heh, different world, same suckers..." Sonic whispered.

* * *

Meanwhile, the boys, along with the rest of the dock-men, continued their search for the fabled jewel; Aang pulled the debris up and out with his waterbending, and Sokka had to use a net just like everyone else.

"Find the Chaos Emerald yet?" the Avatar inquired rhetorically.

"Nope," the warrior answered regardless.

Aang sighed."Well, even if we don't save the universe, we could always apply for some sort of post-apocalyptic pool cleaning service..." he mused glibly.

The cove grew colder at the prospect of not being able to save the world...

"...So, have you uhh...heard the rumors?" Sokka brought up, trying to lighten the mood.

"Does it have anything to do with living machines?" Aang counter-asked.

A noticeable cringe from the young warrior."It's actually some stuff about about a blue spirit," he explained.

At the last two words, the Air Nomad halted his junk gathering cycle and turned to his friend."You mean Zuko?"

"Well, maybe not _the_ Blue Spirit, but it's definitely a spirit that is blue. There've been sightings all over the world since the...World Peace thing...er-Seriously, I saw it on a news post," Sokka stammered, trying not to say "meteor".

Ironically, Aang grew skeptical."All over the world? In one week? Either this is some kind of prank, or this 'spirit' can run really, really..."

 _"Ssh!"_ Sokka interrupted, the entire chamber resonating with a familiar ringing,"...Do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" the Avatar inquired, hearing nothing but his own echo.

In a rather spontaneous instance, the teen tossed his net aside and dove into the water.

"Sokka? What're you doing!" Aang exclaimed, leaping in after him.

Sokka descended further and further beneath the surface, gradually losing both light and oxygen, though the swordsmen-in-training paid no mind, the noise growing to his ears.

Aang intercepted the non-bender, carrying a large bubble behind him.

Two feet from the bottom, the teen jerked his upper half in multiple directions, desperately searching for it even under near total blackness. _No, it has to be down here._ It then came to him...

Without hesitation, Sokka started to claw into the dirt, kicking up clouds of dust as he began to lose consciousness, but not darkness nor lack of breath hindered the warrior. He dug, and dug, and dug, and dug, until...the darkness faded as a mysterious white enveloped the teens face.

Aang spun around to see what looked like his friend, picking up and caressing the source of the sudden illumination with wide eyes. The Avatar immediately dashed for his comrade, swinging the bubble to his front, covering the two, and condensing it into a thick ice dome, thus providing them both with an ample air supply, along with a clear view of the object for them to behold...

 _"You found it..."_ Aang breathed as he stabelized the air pocket, for resting between Sokka's hands was the one item that could seemingly solve the problem at hand: the ivory Chaos Emerald.

"I found it...I FOOUUND IIIT!" Sokka cheered at the top of his lungs, the two both dancing in absolute joy at their first sign of hope and providence - the boys hadn't felt this good for over a week."Alright, buddy, now let's get outta this cave and show this to Zuko: we got a world to save!" he announced cinematically, raising the emerald up in a cliche anime-like pose.

Aang's smile fell to the ground at this."...ttddduhhh, actually, I don't think we should tell him..."

The warrior was frozen in his pose."...saywha'?" he inquiried, still smiling and only able to move his eyes.

"I was thinking, maybe, we could keep this to ourselves? Atleast until tomarrow?" he requested, shrugging.

"ARE YOU NUTS!" he shreiked,"THAT'S GOTTA BE HANDS-DOWN THE MOST IDIOTICLY STUPIDEST INTERROGITVE EVER TO BE EXTRACTED FROM YOUR POOR EXCUSE FOR A CEREBELLUM! I MEAN IT'S RIGHT UP THERE WITH-"

* * *

The surrounding dockmen gained curious expressions as they heard a bizarre squawking sound muffled beneath the water...

* * *

"-GIANT FRIENDLY MUSHROOM! HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OF SUCH A THING?" Sokka demanded.

The young Avatar looked away."I just don't feel comfortable with Zuko knowing we found the emerald; don't I have an opinion?"

The former waterbender dragged his cheeks down with his free hand."Aang, is this honestly the time to go into those 'not-trusting-Zuko-just-cause-he's-the-Fire-Lord fits?" he asked exasperatedly.

"I just don't know anymore, Sokka," Aang consigned,"ever since the Day of Black Sun, I can tell what I can count on..."

"In that case, I'm sure it couldn't hurt to put a little faith in the scarred, angry but morally stable prince who threw away his very birthright to help you restore balance to the world!" the teen reminded,"So if you're not gonna take us back up, I'm going myself," he concluded, producing his club and preparing to make a door through the dome.

The airbender laid his own hands upon the jewel,"Look, I have never doubted your instincts even after you led us right into that Fire Nation camp when we met Jet: now it's the Avatar's turn - I don't want to give it to him," Aang commanded.

Sokka pulled the emerald closer to himself."Do you want save Katara and Toph or not?"

The Avatar pulled it more to himself."What I _don't_ want is for the emerald to fall into the wrong hands."

Back to Sokka."Do I have to say this out loud? Zuko does not want to use the Chaos Emerald to take over the world!"

Back to Aang."Yes he does! Did you see that flare in his eyes? He was practically _drooling_ over the possibilities..." he over-dramatized.

Right under their noses, the emerald seemed to intensify in glow parallel with their escalating temperaments...

"Aang, there is no flare; he looks like that all the time, even when he's going to the bathroom!"

"I don't care! It's my call, and I say no!"

"We are holding _pure chaos_ in the palms of our hands! Chaos that must be controlled!"

At that very moment, the Chaos Emerald sparkled with multiple electrical currents, its glow brightening well beyond conspicuous. The teen and pre-teen were compelled to look down at it.

"...uuumm..." was all Aang had left to say.

Without warning, the two were soon engulfed in an astonishing spectacle of light.

 _*FLASH*_

* * *

A pair of dock-men witnessed a semblance of a spark under the surface; they turned to eachother with worried faces.

* * *

In another flash, the bender and non-bender plopped onto a metallic surface.

They groggily arose, moaning and clutching their foreheads.

Sokka sighed."Well, see what I mean? This is exactly why-" the former waterbender froze after turning around, his eyes bulged out of his sockets,"... _Aang...whatever you do, don't look out the window..._ " he squeaked.

The boy opened his own eyes."Window? There's no window all the way down-" the Avatar turned around,"...oh..." he mumbled as he realized they were no longer underwater, in the cave, at the palace, within the Fire Nation, or even on the earth itself. They knew this because they currently had a nice view of the planet's horizon...through the window of an aforementioned space station.


	8. Cannon's Core Part 2

**Book Four:**

 **Metal**

 **Chapter Seven:**

 **Cooperation**

* * *

Echoes of laughter bounced off the surface of the huge cave within the mountain, which served as the base of operations for the Earth Kingdom revolutionaries.

Mayor Morishita's bottom was dragged by the back of his collar along the gravel like a burlap sack as dozens of men and women mocked, leered, and threw things at his face. Gow, the leader of the rebellion, stopped and punched upwards, raising himself and the terrified mayor upon a ten foot stone column.

"Attention, my Earth Kingdom brothers and sisters," Gow announced, lifting the mayor off his feet,"behold the face of one of your most infamous oppressors!"

The rioting crowd roared triumphantly.

"Thanks to all of our sheer resolve, we've manage to undo in less than two months what not even the Avatar was willing to prevent over a century ago! Town after town has been ridden of those Fire Nation colonists across the continent, and returned the land to their rightful owners! And just who was it that accomplished this? Was it the so-called Earth King," the crowd fumed with contempt at the two words,"who idly sat and laughed with all of his wealthy comrades behind the walls of Ba Sing Se? Was it the mad king of Omashu," again the people raged,"who openly prides himself at literally doing nothing while his own city was conquered in less than a day? Do I even have to _remind_ you all about the Water Tribes!?" again thundered the crowd,"But none of that, _none_ of it can compare to the utter treachery of the last airbender himself, or should I say...THE FIRE LORD'S BEST FRIEND!?"

At this point, rocks were flying all over the place.

"It was US!," Gow pound his chest," The people! The humble farmers, workers, prisoners of war, and soldiers abandoned by their backstabbing leaders that surrendered to the Fire Nation and left us all to burn! Well NO MORE! We will free every last patch of our home from the claws of the great dragon that has perched upon them; we will show all traitors the error of their ways, whether through reason or force! And when we have finally grown large enough, we shall take to the West, grip the Fire Nation by its dragon horns, and break. it's. NECK!"

"HOW'BOUT NO!?"

The entire cavern was silenced by the different voice. Gow turned to see a raised gloved hand in the distance. The hand belonged to some diminutive figure with a large hat covering his face, standing on a cart full of "exotic" rocks.

"Excuse me?" Gow inquired.

The little person showed his palms submissively."Look, guys, I'm not gonna lie: I'm totally for the whole 'take down the man' and 'power to the the people' kinda' stuff; but - I'm JUST sayin' - it's a liiitle counter productive for your cause when ya start blabbin on about takin' over the world!"

"We are the people of the earth!" Gow growled."If it ought to be ruled by someone, it ought to be us!" the crowd cheered in agreement."Do you got a problem with that, little man!?" Gow smirked.

"Well, not necessarily a 'problem', but, the thing is..." Sonic tossed his hat away.

Again the crowd was silent.

"...Stoppin' dudes from rulin' the world is my thing..."

Were this a less serious cartoon series, Gow's jaw would have hit the floor."It's Blue Spirit! Kill it!"

One soldier blinked."But, dude, you can't kill a spiri-"

"SHUT UP AND THROW ROCKS AT HIM!"

Sonic's expression brightened up."Oh! You guys need rocks? I brought a whole crate-full - FREE ROCKS FOR EVERYBODY!" the hedgehog gleefully announced as he performed a spin-dash in reverse, propelling a hail of "exotic" rocks and pebbles into the faces of all the soldiers.

Gow again seized Morishita by his clothes and jumped off the platform, earth-sliding through an open door, and sealed the entrance shut with a stone wall.

* * *

The Fire Lord stood there, leaning against the railing of his bedroom's balcony, clearly in deep thought.

"Having girl troubles, my lord?" Inquired a raspy male voice behind.

Despite the circumstances, Zuko smiled at the sound of the voice, though he didn't turn around."There you are," he greeted,"I was wondering where you've been since I got back..."

"I finally gave my brother a long awaited visit," Iroh replied.

Zuko exhaled."And how did that go?"

"Precisely as well as I thought it would," The old man shrugged."Ozai didn't say a word..." he rolled his eyes,"So, Fire Lord Zuko, given this highly unexpected emergency, what exactly have you told your military?

"Just to arm-up for the strong chance of an impending terrorist attack," he explained, rubbing the back of his neck," I guess it's true enough; I wish we could've told them more, though..."The monarch lamented.

"Trust me, my lord: It's best not to dwell on what could've been - the less your personnel is concern for your sanity, the better," Iroh reassured.

"Even that's in short supply lately..." Zuko admitted.

"My Lord!"

Zuko and Iroh spun around to see a familiar servant.

Iroh scratched his brow."Is it just me, or do I keep seeing that same man running around here repeatedly?"

The Fire Lord hunch over."Ever since Azula banished all of the guards and servants, the palace staff has been pretty short-handed..."

"Ah..." Iroh understood.

"The Avatar and his friend are gone!" the servant cried.

"What!?" Zuko gasped.

"The workers down in the cove watched the Water Tribe boy leap into the water, and then the Avatar jumped in after him!" the servant explained,"then they saw some kind of light deep under the surface; there hasn't been any sign of them since!"

The Fire Lord blinked."A...light?" he repeated as his eyes trembled. He looked at the ground."It must've been Dr. Eggman!"

"Is that truly his real name?" Iroh had to ask.

"It doesn't matter! Eggman must have captured them too! He completely went back on his deal!" Zuko slammed his fist against the rails,"I should have seen this coming!"

Iroh patted his nephew's back."Calm yourself, Zuko, if that is the case, then that means the Avatar is now in that space station - he is the only one who can defeat this evil doctor."

"Do you really think he has a chance?" Zuko stared sternly at his uncle,"he has an army of machines at his command, _and_ those other six magical emeralds."

"My brother had an army of the most elite firebenders in history," Iroh replied,"not to mention the power of Sozin's Comet, and the Avatar couldn't have defeated him more spectacularly." He reassured Zuko with a warm, confident smile."It does not matter if he was imprisoned: the Avatar has always been the strongest, wisest, and most powerful being ever to walk the earth - I have no reason to doubt that he, at this very moment, is in complete control."

* * *

"HOW THE HELL DID WE GET UP HERE!?" the Avatar finally freaked out, his fingers aggressively clutched his cranium,"That's it, I can't do this anymore! I'm turnin' in my arrow and growin' a beard! This is too much for me. GAME OVER, MAN! "

As the distraught airbender went on, Sokka stood motionless, peering out the long window the paralleled the length of the hallway, the gravity of the situation almost crushed the teen. However, as the warrior gave it a second thought, a wide smile encompassed his face; though it disappeared as he observed his companion...

"Oh, great holy pubaa of hard-boiled monkey-rolls, WHY IS THIS HAPPENING TO MEEEEE-"

"Aang, AANG, RELAX!" Sokka exclaimed, grabbing the poor boy by the collar and smacking him across his cheek.

The shaken Avatar came back to his senses, breathing audibly."...thanks...I needed that..." he swallowed,"but what do you expect? This is the exact opposite of what was supposed to happen."

"No, we're exactly where we wanna be!" the teen announced.

"Sokka, I may have completely lost my composure not but eleven seconds ago but I'm still working on the knowledge that this the last point in the universe we should be standing right now..."

"Think about it: Dr. Eggman would never expect this, not if we didn't; at this hour, he's probably asleep! All we have to do is sneak around a bit, find the girls, and then all his leverage goes right out the window!" he paused,"...figuratively speaking, that is...Then, you go all Avatar State, force'em to show us how to get down, and bingobango, we save the universe!"

"Yeah sure, 'bingobango', you make him sound like just another Admiral Zhao. We haven't the frailest idea what's in store for us up here, or how being _in the middle of space_ could affect my bending; I'd be half an Avatar, maybe even less than..." Aang stopped, gasping as he caught sight of an enormous red anomaly passing by,"hide!"

They both ducked under the window, taking a short peek - it was one of Dr. Eggman's battleships; the two anxiously waited for the huge vessel to gradually pass by...

"See what I mean?" Aang continued.

"Listen, we can still pull this off. Now you go find Eggman while I look for my sister, friend, and non-friend; take this with you..." Sokka said picking up the emerald.

"That's even worse!" thr airbender replied,"You wanna wander around this place on your own?"

Sokka took another peek out the window - the ship was gone."Look, this emerald brought us here for a reason; and if we don't treat this opportunity like it's a gift from Heaven, he'll just imprison us when he finds out and have the emerald."

"Then why would you want me to have the emerald if I'm supposed to look for him?" Aang inquired as they both rose.

"Because it'll make you stronger, just think! You might not have to use the Avatar State against Dr. Eggman at all..." Sokka mused, holding the jewel up to Aang."So I don't know about you, but I just got through making a promise to my girlfriend that I would fix this mess whether I had something to do with it or not, and I am going to...even if I have to take their place..." the future chieftain resolved, displaying how far this apple didn't fall from the tree after all.

The Avatar took the Chaos Emerald with both hands, and stared at it deeply, and same to Sokka, who responded by continuing his austere gaze - back at the jewel.

After a long moment of tension, the boy spoke, and smiled as he did."Y'know, I don't care how many times I hear the name 'Dr. Eggman': it'll never sound intimidating..." he replied.

Sokka briefly clasped his hands around the emerald with a grin of his own, and they both separated to perform the tasks given to them. The search was on.

* * *

Tonight was not a good night to be a revolutionary.

Try as they might, every rock thrown, every sword swung, every spear vaulted, and every arrow launched could have never hope to graze the furry blue blur that was Sonic. The hedgehog might as well have been dealing with his typical batch of robotic bugs and crabs, as even they seemed more of a challenge as he rolled through the tunnel, toppling over all men and women that dared to stand in his path. More and more wannabe soldiers (as well as actual former soldiers that simply weren't very good soldiers) gushed through every door Sonic had yet to pass, but they were taken out as soon as they appeared. Although as much of a thrill that this nonstop butt-kicking-fest was giving Sonic, the notoriously impatient hedgehog inevitably succumbed to his greatest weakness: boredom.

Sonic spin-dashed along the tunnel ceiling, zipping over the heads of the bewildered rebels, and into a library, where he locked the door - if his current foes were any indication, this was indisputably the best place to hide.

As fun as giving dumb people their daily dose of spin-attacks to the face was, it was not enough for him to overlook his actual priority: to rescue the mayor of the Fire Nation town, take down this anti-Fire Nation organization, and maybe find out exactly _what_ the Fire Nation even is. That leader with the "I'm Batman!" voice was ranting on about the Fire Nation having colonies all over their land, how their leaders "abandoned" them, and how they planned on not only usurping their own king, but also the Fire Nation as well. Part of Sonic truly did feel sorry for these people if the first two claims were true, but the rest of him was totally not sitting for anyone taking over anything. Then again, he had to remind himself how nations "colonize" other people's land in the first place...

But most the humans that he's interacted with in this world talk about the colonies like they were established a long time ago; Sonic was sure that, even if these places were invaded and conquered by the Fire Nation, these Fire Nation people now seem to have strong roots in those colonies; they were born and raised here, just like the Earth Kingdom people. As wrong as it was for the Fire Nation to have conquered their lands, it was just as wrong to drive the citizens out from what was also their home.

Man this was somthin' else: at least with Eggman, he always knew who the bad guy was and what doomsday device to blow up, but all this stuff about war and politics and civil unrest was starting to make him miss the potentially world-ending events he had grown accustomed to. Aside from his contract with Paramount, Sonic The hedgehog had found himself a new reason to avoid social media at at costs.

"What do you mean you can't tell when!?"

The sudden chatter caused Sonic to freeze, then zip inside of a deep drawer in a desk, slowly pulling it closed (and once again painfully reminding himself of that dumb elevator scene in the trailer). He then pushed it just open enough to see through.

"That's exactly what I mean!" cried a college-aged young man as he gathered various papers off his desk."I've been observing the sky myself every night since I got here, and the trajectory is different every time!"

"Different in what way, exactly?" asked a middle-aged man in a dark green robe.

The boy sighed."Listen, the moon has remained a some where between a quarter full and half full for the last week; it should've been half full by now, but it isn't! It's as if it's been alternating back and forth this whole time! On top of that, the angle of the sunlight reflected off the moon isn't the same; again, it changes each night; even each hour!"

The closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead."This...is ridiculous: are you actually trying to tell me the entire moon is, what, moving independently out of its own orbit!?"

Now there were some words to give Sonic a confused look.

"I don't know what else to tell you! Look at the moon yourself!"

"Enough of your nonsense!" The man swept his arm to the side."One of the brightest young minds in Ba Sing Se, and you can't even tell if there's going to be an eclipse or not!" he stomped forward, looming over the young man."There is a battle going on not one hundred meters from where we are standing, and if it isn't dealt with, ALL of my work for the past summer and fall will have been for nothing! Either you start giving me consistent readings, or else you won't live to _see_ the next half moon!" With that, the man storm away, past the desk Sonic was in, and out the door with an abrupt slam.

The boy dropped his papers, and slumped to his seat curling over the desk and sobbing. Sonic rolled his eyes - not at the nerd, but at himself for blowing his cover just to make said nerd feel better.

As the young man's fists tightened as tears dripped from his closed eyelids, a gloved hand patted his shoulder. He meekly turned to see owner of the hand, and his face was like a statue as he laid eyes on a creature beyond the spectrum of everything he'd ever imagined.

"Micromanagement's the worst, am I right?" Sonic smiled, and swiftly pounced on the human, covering his mouth while pinning his rapidly struggling body to the floor before the human could scream bloody murder."Ya' know, if it were another, edgy-er super-fast hedgehog, you'd definitely be dead right now."

The man's muffled shrieks quietly seeped through Sonic's gloved fingers.

"I know what you're tryin' to say - 'what are you', 'rodents can't talk', and so on, so allow me to clear this up. I'm Sonic The Hedgehog, the the spiky dude with a cool attitude whom your people have been referring to as 'The Blue Spirit' even though I'm not, that solo'd your entire army and found your secret hideout." Sonic explained casually."Now, I know I've literally been beating every single earthbender within an inch of their lives up until now, but I'm actually a real chill guy who's just trying to do the right thing. So, given my positive disposition, I'm willing to take my hand off your mouth and let you stand up on the grounds that you're also a chill guy just tryin' to do the right thing" Sonic blinked,"because if I am wrong...you _will_ wish I had killed you. We cool?" he finished with a neighborly smile.

The eventually quiet but still obviously nervous boy nodded.

"Cool..." Sonic replied, zipping to his feet.

The boy steadily rose to his own."Um...Hello, Sonic, I'm Pong, I'm a student from Ba Sing Se University, and I'm not really sure how one define's a 'cool' attitude."

"Nice ta meet ya, Pong!" Sonic waved."So what brings you to this neck of the evil lair?"

Pong picked up his glassed and polished them."I used to live in Ba Sing Se just before it was conquered by the Fire Nation during the war. Me and my family escaped, but, we were separated, and I haven't seen them since. I manage to find a town, a Fire Nation colony, but the locals tolerated me so I was able to stay."

"Yep, Fire Nation, colonies, war, been hearin' those words a lot lately," Sonic reminisced,"You guys _are_ aware the war's over, right?"

"Politically speaking, of course," Pong said,"But it's just not that simple: it only ended last summer, and it lasted over a century. I mean, the Avatar didn't even kill the old Fire Lord, and the new Fire Lord doesn't seem to do much different. It's been three months, and the Fire Nation is _still_ claiming ownership of Earth Kingdom land...our land...no one important seems to care about all the people in the middle that are suffering because of this, at least except for Long Feng."

"You mean that totally-not-a-villain that straight up threatened to murder you?" Sonic noted.

"That's him..." Pong said,"He and Gow are the leaders of the resistance, although Long Feng prefers all the credit goes to Gow. I'm among the only ones that even knows his name, or speaks to directly - all his orders are given by Gow."

Sonic chuckled."I bet - gotta have someone to blame after he loses."

Pong sighed."He probably will..." he closed his eyes."When he found me, I was completely won over by his and Gow's words of freedom; I lost everything to the Fire Nation just like all the rest. But now that I've seen them in person, and watched the the way they attack the colonies so savagely...I just, I don't know if I'm on the right side anymore..."

"Meh, war is heck," Sonic shrugged."So what was that stuff about the moon anyway?"

Suddenly, yelling and running could be heard nearing the library. Sonic dashed behind a bookshelf as soon as Gow kicked the door open."Where is he!?"

Pong was stunned."huh!?"

"What do you mean 'huh'? The Blue Spirit! He came outta nowhere and tore my through men like nothing, and then he just vanished! Did you see him or not!?"

Pong's trembling eyes could help but swerve in Sonic's direction. The hedgehog quickly gestured for him not to say anything. Pong blinked, and looked back at the impatient earthbender."I...er...Aren't spirit's metaphysical, and by extension, imperceptible to the human eye?"

Gow's anger turned to confusion...than back to anger."This ain't no time to get philosophical with me, boy! We've got another one 'o those little furry people to tryin' to take us out!"

Now there was something to catch Sonic off guard.

"We round this one up, and there'll be nothin' to stand in our way once you figure out when that dang eclipse is!"

"I'm still working on that, sir!" Pong responded diligently.

"Good!" with that, Gow slammed the door shut.

The bullet-sweating Pong exhaled in relief. But then he thought of something."Mr. Gow, come back!"

Sonic glared at the boy with a betrayed look.

Gow re-kicked the door open."What!? You see 'em!?"

"nNo, it's just, uhhhh..."Pong's vision whipped about the room."...I was told you captured the mayor of Yu Dao...where exactly are you going to keep him?"

"What stupid question is that!? I threw him down in the dungeon with the rest o' those talkin' animal freaks! Now quit wastin' by time and find that eclipse!" Gow finished, re-slamming the door shut.

Sonic walked out of his hiding place, and stared at the door blankly...than angrily..." 'Animal freaks..? He _better_ not mean who I think!" he growled as he dash to the door. He opened it, peering left and right to see that the coast was clear. He then looked back at Pong with a genuine smile."Thank's, man, I think you just picked the right side this time." he thanked before dashing out the room, leaving an unexpected smile on Pong's face.

* * *

 ** _Lost Colony_**

No air, no water, no earth, no life. . .

Aang never thought that space could be so dead. On his world as the inhabitants bent the elements, there was a supernatural flow; a push and pull. There was harmony; there was life.

But here, in this. . .what could he call it? Fortress? Ship? There was nothing but cogs and bolts. He hated the sense of oppression. It was as though this machine world was built for the sole purpose of defying all things sacred. He felt like a fish in a tank, separated, isolated, but still contained; as if his links to the spirit world were even cut.

 _I hate this place. As soon I find Katara and the others, I'll find some way to get off this ship and get as far away as I can._

Or, he could destroy the whole thing, if it were possible, once he and his companions had escaped this dead ship.

Aang noticed the pipes that were above him. They trailed across the ceiling, down the hall. Thankfully there were small amounts of water in them and he would, now and then, raise a hand to feel the flow of the water, in order to measure the distance he trekked, the various intersections, and floors of this iron labyrinth: it seemed to go on forever.

Occasionally, he felt a. . .presence. It was something like chi, but not quite. It disturbed him. He had no idea what to expect here, yet the Avatar felt that whatever was here expected him to a degree. He felt like he was being watched, that the ceilings had eyes, trailing his every move. But it didn't matter.

Aang wasn't here to hide; he was here to save his friends. . .and Sokka inevitably. Stealth wasn't Aang's strong point; and now that the nomad thought about it, it was a pity that Zuko hadn't been taken with him and Sokka, stealth being more his expertise.

Aang tried not to lose focus and allow his mind to be drowned out with thoughts, but the dead silence of this steel cave made it impossible. His breath even felt too loud. . .

He pasted a series of long, rectangular windows, seeing the expanse of the heavens: it comforted him.

He continued walking until he reached a set of double doors that he hoped were not locked. Despite there menacing size, they gently opened as soon as he was in 3 feet of them. At least that wasn't difficult.

And as Aang stepped through the opening, he walked in, to his surprise. . .a large intersection, with more halls. . .

The young Avatar rubbed the back of his head. "Some how..." he mused.

And he looked down, noticing his shadow growing, as well as the reflection on the gleaming metal surface of the floor. . .

. . .he had one second. . .

Aang quickly rolled to the right before a large, blue mechanical creature nearly crushed him to pulp, Its iron feet tore through the floor. The thing was nearly twice his height, wielding a thick metallic clubsword to match its color scheme, its eyes and grinning teeth, a cold pale pink light, dead as the world around him. Unbeknowst to Aang this was one of Dr. Eggman's toughest robot soldiers, an Egg Fighter Knight.

The thing swung its weapon down at the Avatar.

Aang side stepped.

It missed, denting the steel floor with a thunderous clang.

The thing followed up with a violent back swing.

Aang ducks.

It misses, the clubsword ripping into steel pipes.

The weapon is lodged into the steel. . .

Here's his opening...

Aang leaps towards to the machine and delivers a devastating side kick, delivering an air blast that knocks the metal beast away so hard, its arm was still embedded in the wall.

Aang walks up to the metal monster, electricity pouring out of its cybernetic wounds.

"You can't fight any more," the pacifist monk declares,"I know you can talk. Where's Eggman? And where 're my. . ."

Another iron warrior violently lands behind Aang and attempts to crush him with its own blade.

The Avatar dodges and the crippled machine is crushed beneath its allies' weapon.

"Hey!" Aang shouted, "He was on your side...!" But the way the second machine steps on the steal corpse and pries its clubsword from the first's shattered remains shows that it wasn't even alive enough to care much for its own.

The metal monster charges Aang as mindlessly as the other. Time slows.

The boy's eyes look to left of the charging metal beast. Aang sees the torn ligament that still stuck in the wall, steam billowing around the gash under pressure.

Steam is water and air.

Aang quickly flexes his fist, building up the pressurized steam, and the metal sword-ligament is blasted from steel wall, impaling the charging machine.

It falls on its face, motionless...

Aang's guard lowered, he paced over to the sparkling remains; he simply couldn't believe that these things were just machines; though, on the same token, it was just as difficult to observe their frozen faces - their lidless eyes, those wide grins literally welded into their heads - and conclude they were once alive. How could living things _bleed_ electricity?

Soon after, he went on about his business; at least now he had an idea of what he was dealing with. But one thing was for sure: there were more than that to beware - alot more - and the Avatar had a feeling that subtlety wasn't going to cut it: he was going to have to fight his way through this vessel...

* * *

 _ **The Doom**_

The dusty, greenish hallway echoed with the sound of nervous whistleing...or at least it would have, per chance that Sokka actually knew how to whistle, as the only sound to be heard was more akin to rasberrying in one's sleep.

So far, the young warrior has been pretty lucky. That is, he'd yet to cross paths with any machine creatures; gaining any clue to where Katara was - not so much. Sokka couldn't tell if it was the simple truth that he was no longer on the earth (at least during the War, fleeing for home was an option...), or if was just all the creepy beeps and hums that rung from every angle, but that old Sokka's-gotta-do-what-Sokka's-gotta-do mindset the young warrior had earlier didn't seem very assuring for someone completely naked in military terms; he was _really_ beginning to miss his sword...

The teen's point of interest then swerved over to what looked like a large green, luminescent map integrated into the wall to his immediate left. Sokka had come across one of these a couple times earlier; he was starting to get used to them. Based on what the warrior's seen so far, one of the glowing orange dots was where he was currently standing, and the bigger dot that remained on the top, well, his instincts told that was his destination; they've served as some reliable feedback so far...Sokka then heard a strange mechanical sifting sound directly behind him, causing the teen to freeze in pondering position, his eyes bugged out. His head slowly revolved around like an old door with rusty hinges.

And there it was: a tall, bulky, blue-ish black and white metal huminoid facing the opposite direction, scanning over the rail of the ledge it and Sokka were apparently on (a GUN Laser Hunter to be specific...).

 _How the HELL could I have not seen that before?_

The young warrior would've swallowed nervously but he felt any audible noise he made at this point would mean instant death; his only option was to carefully sidle along the wall until he was out of hearing range of the machine - he internally prayed it wasn't that wide - until, as usual, the universe felt like bein' a jerk...

An agonizingly loud growl erupted from the teen's bowls, causing the machine's whole body to tense up. It was now or dead, Sokka had to move...!

The Lazer Hunter spun around, its blaster primed and ready to terminate...nothing...there was nothing behind the robot other than the map; naturaly, this perplexes the drone...

In actuality, the teen had made a b-line just under its blaster, taking advantage of its tall height and limited vision; the machine's upper half turned left and right, Sokka moved with it.

Apparently, during all the drama, the warrior had at some point forgotten to procure some dinner before being hurled into space, and now he was hungry. Stupid digestive system and its needs. Where were _you_ when Cumbustion Man showed up?

Concluding there was no lifeform anywhere, the drone preceded to walk away, with Sokka having to crawl inbetween its legs and walk with it, syncing his footsteps with the robot...until his stomach growled again...

The drone anticipated this, its upper half swerved a full 180' and fired...only succeeding in the demise of the nearest neon lamp post, bewildering the robot even further. The Hunter then concluded that its audio receivers must be malfunctioning, and preceded to upload a report to the central mainframe about the issue...

In reality, Sokka was currently clinging onto the outside of the drone's shield with his back against it, his lower lip curled behind his anxious upper teeth. So far, not so good...

Sokka's pupils then turned to view the front of him...only to come face-to-optic with a Beetle drone floating just off the ledge, observing the situation."...Oh COME ON!"

The fully-alerted Laser Hunter then pulled back and swung its shield-arm outward, propelling the teen into the Beetle, Sokka clinging onto it as well. The armed robot attempted to shoot the boy again, only hitting the Beetle and causing the smaller model to dart away out of control, over the walkway, down across the lower room, and into another hallway, inadvertently carrying the screaming Sokka with it.

The flying drone blew across the hall, bouncing off the wall and floor repeatedly; the two eventually flew into a second room. Upon entry, Sokka instantly let go and huddled his limbs into a proper rolling position, the Beetle crashing and exploding on the far wall, its sparks and flames giving little light to the dark room.

The young warrior groggily arose from the floor, stretching his muscles to ease the pain; after that landing, his everything was sore; his body fully erect, Sokka stopped to gaze into the strange new chamber he had just entered, with the light from the hallway and the flaming beetle serving as just enough light to see clearly. Taking recent happenings into mind, he proceeded to continued deeper.

Needless to say, the room was an absolute mess: the floor was covered under various broken doodads, shards of glass, and pieces of paper; there were two wide glass cylinders held in place by dual equaly large metal (also covered in techno mumbo jumbo, two on the ceiling and on the floor) , both were partialy shattered - hence the shards across the floor - one was clearly empty, and the second, as Sokka walked by it, he took note of the putrid lizard skeleton, throwing the teen a bit more out of his "cool".

A bit closer to the Beetle's remains, there were also a long bolted with desk other other broken thing-a-ma-gigs on it as well as a couple turned over metal cabinets; there were a two more papers lying on it. Sokka decided to check them. Picking the smaller one up, Sokka observed a black and white picture of a man who looked a lot like Eggman, only he was quite older, _The father maybe?_ there was also a young smiling girl next to him; she appeared to be around Katara's age."hm..." escaped Sokka's throat.

The larger paper proved to be much more strenuous to decipher: while he could not even remotely understand the text, on the top right corner there was a picture of what resembled an over-sized reptile, with all sorts of bolts plugged into it, with thick tubes running from its head to whatever that thing on its back was supposed to be. His gaze returned to the remains in the cylinder; he speculated it was a different reptile than in the picture, as the latter seemed far bigger."Huh..." he mumbled.

Satisfied with the information, Sokka decided to keep the smaller picture in his pocket as a souvenir (that's assuming the teen would make it out of hear alive), and turned to leave when, as expected, his clumsy toe simply couldn't leave without making contact with something heavy and - as if it could be made of anything else - metallic. The teen naturally began to bounce up and down one foot and clutching the other while grunting out words and phrases he had only heard aboard naval vessels; if only he had abandoned his primitive wear for a pair of sturdy Fire Nation boots he wouldn't be faced with inconveniences such as this. When the latest batch of pain receded, Sokka's instinctive curiosity returned and he preceded to pick up the origin of stubbed-big-toe (which weighed at least thirty pounds) to quench his thirst for clues once more.

The device was long and slender, rivaling Sokka himself in height, though he held it horizontally. It kind of resembled a dragon with its mouth-like design on one end and arranged spikes on the other; which, along with its black and red trim color scheme, made it appear more Fire Nation than anything else on this station. Sokka took note of a handle on the latter end of the device; carefully wrapping his right hand around the handle without dropping the thing, the warrior also felt what he guessed was a trigger mechanism at the vertex of the handle and the rest of the device. He did his best to position his hands around it where he supposed they ought to be, getting a feel of it."Hmm..." Sokka mumbled, facinated by the device. Now all that was left to do was determine the purpose of the invention, which he might have been able to do peacfully, if it wasn't for the Gold Beetle drone that literally popped out of thin air right in front of the teen, causing him to cringe in fear, thus squeezing the trigger by accident...

*BAYAM!*

Before Sokka knew what happened, he was sitting in a chair, holding the device tightly to his person, and the machine had completely vanished, though the teen did notice a molten hole through the wall he was facing, as well as the wall behind that, and the wall behind that, and so on...

Sokka's attention referred to the former end of the device, the nosil now leaking with smoke - it did not take even his unmatched detective skills to understand what had just took place...

Recovering from his stupor, the Water Tribe native arose from the chair and turned back to the remain of the previous floating machine. Curious to see if it was still loaded, Sokka pointed the weapon at it, and willfully pulled the trigger, igniting a powerful ray of light energy to shoot out the mouth, the kick propelling Sokka backwards, and decemating what was left of the Beetle.

Sokka could only gaze upon the supremely deadly weapon in his arms as he lie there on his back, knocked away by the blast. And inspite of the current conditions, his smile returned, which now morphed into a smirk as the former waterbender wondered what other "devices' this place had to offer..."Hmmmm..."

* * *

Meanwhile, in Dr. Gerald Robotniks personal quarters...

The evil scientist sat there, tucked beneath the covers of his grandfather's queen-sized bed, basking on the verge of total victory. Truly, Dr. Eggman should've been fast and sound asleep by this hour, but his oh-so overdeveloped brain was constantly re-stimulated by the sheer volume of his unmitigated triumph.

The doctor almost couldn't comprehend just how fortunate events were transpiring in his favor; why, if he were to by some means obtain the power to travel through time and update his past self of his achievement, not even he would accept it as a credible outcome.

By noon of tomorrow, the seventh Chaos Emerald would be his, and so would this new world; and he was making full preparations, marking off particular locations across the globe on a miniaturized version of the digital atlas he rendered earlier."...and I'll put Eggmanland here, and I'll put Robotniklaaaand here and...Where should Robotropolis go? The South Pole, maybe?" he mused, when suddenly, a Gold Beetle appeared before the foot of the bed.

"Doctor, two intruders have been detected on different levels of Space Colony ARK" it announced.

The doctor chuckled to himself, having been reminded that he had single handedly reprogramed the ARK's security system to believe he was actually his own grandfather, adding but another victory on his growing list of achievements."It's probably two of the girls attempting to escape again, Beetle, most likely the earth and firebenders, they don't seem to adapt as well as the Water Tribe girl..." he dissmissed, but the drone went on...

"Pharamone levels indicate the intruders are young males"

" 'Males'?" Eggman repeated, his attention finally deterred from the touch-screen pad,"How is that even..." he froze, quite familiar with the scenario,"... no..."

It took the overweight scientist a record-breaking five minutes to reach the central computer room, skidding to a halt as he readjusted he jumpsuit and spectacles, leaping onto the chair, and rebooting the surveilence feed, only to find a pair of somethings that filled his bowels with nausiating nestalgia...

"NO WAY! I CAN'T BELIEVE THIS!" he recited, clawing at his bald head. It was none other than that boy, the Avatar, running around the station and reducing his precious robots to scrap, while one his dimwitted companions rumaged through the strorage facility for anything that looked intimidating and...was that the Shadow Rifle?

Oh, no, this couldn't be happening; he had everything planned out! It's not like he was going to kill anyone! Was this truly the his fate? Had the doctor escaped the clutches of one bold protaganist only to fall prey to another, more powerfull nemesis?

WAIT! What was that glow beneath the boy's robe? the doctor freeze-framed, and zoomed in. Could it be?

It was! It all made sense now! Eggman knew they had the emerald the whole time! Heh, looks like that reverse phychology he pulled earlier worked like a charm. All he had to do now was find a way to pry that rock from the Avatar's possession without getting burned, crushed, drowned, of blown away by a vengefull pre-teen. There was still time, right? It was not as if the child actually knew where he was going. Of course, he was getting rather close to Crazy Gadget; he wasn't that far away at all.

No, no this was still good; the emeralds were all in one place, he had a combined force of his badniks and security drones patroling the ARK; if anything, they'd bid time until the doctor thought of way to obtain the last emerald and conquer this planet for good. Besides, this boy doesn't have the experience against his technology as the hedgehog would - he was on Eggman's turf now, right in the palm of his hand, just like the world.

This. Was not. Over.

* * *

 _ **Eternal Engine**_

Dust, smoke, fire, sparks, the smell of burnt rubber. . .

Aang breathed, summoning as much internal energy as he could muster, and sent a devastating whirlwind through the steel tunnel that sent the turtle-like machine, scrapped remains of former foes, and shards of the glass interior flying downing the tunnel like vegetables being hacked in a blender. For a moment the air was clear. It was clear enough for Aang to, for a fraction of a second, gain his bearings. It also gave him a moment to access the situation. Some how, some way, he had been teleported on this unatural vessel in the depths of space. He was being continuously assaulted by wave after wave of metal monster. . .and before the Avatar could even finish pondering his seemingly hopeless situation, a metal bulwark slid open and another wave of blue and orange machines herded towards him.

The Avatar charged, cutting them down with a dazzling flurry of air and fire; whatever machine wasn't blasted away with a gail of wind was immediately blown to bits by a rapid strike of flame.

Aang turned and ran. . .he passed corridor after corridor, intersection after intersection, propelling his body with what little air was in this dead place, allowing him to quicken his pace. Finally, he passed through two large sliding doors and reached a vast chasm within the ship.

The airbender was breathless, not out of exhaustion, but plain shock. The size of this vessel was impossible to imagine. He could see the earth - home - from the metal ledge he stood upon. Up and around, he could see the stars and across the chasm, he saw another gate in the distance; there was no good way across, except for. . .these moving platform things. It disturbed him, but he'd dun harder things in his life than jump.

He leap over the edge and roughly landed on a platform and began leaping from one to another. A squadron of white, slender flying machines - oddly fitting the warden's description at the Boiling Rock - rushed towards the Avatar and opened fire; no matter. Taking advantage of their poor aim, he blasted them out of the air with streams of fire. It was too easy. Then a whistling noise caught his attention. . .he jerked his head to the right and several rocket-propelled missiles flying towards him. He looked forward: the door was rather far from his platform but he could make it with enough energy. He swallowed his apprehension and launched himself forth. A split second later, the missiles hit the platform and detonated, blasting it to fiery pieces. The force of the explosion sent Aang flying faster through the dead air. He went sent flying through the other door too fast to catch himself and hit the iron ground hard. He struggled to his feet, only to meet eyes with another dozen humanoid mechanizations, this time they had shields.

"Okay," he exhaled, "time for act 2. . ." he lunged.

* * *

"Katara, stop hoggin' the sheets..." Toph whined, prodding at the waterbender with her feet.

"I'm not hogging, I'm just cold; it's not my fault this bed's so small," she explained, attempting to attain a comfortable position; only incurring the earthbender's wrath even further.

"I said cut it out!" Toph cried, kicking the older girl off the mattress completely.

Katara strenuously rose to her knees."Look, I can't help it if you're so accustomed to having your own space to sleep; besides, I would've had a bed for myself if someone hadn't of set it on fire..." she threw a glare at the obvious offender.

Azula's eyes refused to open, as she were still asleep."Maybe this 'someone' you are referring to wouldn't have set your bed on fire if another someone hadn't've woken that someone up..."

"Maybe this other someone wouldn't of had to worry about waking the first someone up if the latter weren't compelled to destroy any that's not red..." Katara countered, standing up.

"Perhaps this alleged compulsion could've been averted per chance the second someone did not interfere with the previous someone's Agni Kai..." the firebender followed up, opening her eyes.

"Though, that someone would never, or rather, should never of had to interfere given the aformentioned someone refrained from cheating..." the waterbender reminded, taking a step forward.

"As a matter of fact, such a duel probably could've been avoided altogether pending that the former someone and the current someone's opponent let their personal animosities dissolve long enough for that someone to be coronated..." the princess added, supporting herself up.

"Which, would not have been an issue to begin with if the someone you're talking about weren't the heartless, caniving, egotistical, power-hungry, and partialy deranged witch we all know her to be..." she continued boldly, stomping closer to the other girl with every adjective.

"...w-Wait; who're you talking about?" Toph inquired.

"BUTT OUT!" were their responses.

"Ahh, conflict, music to my ears..." the blind girl muttered softly as she drifted back to sleep , her ears attuned to such heated desputes.

"You make me want to throw up, you know that?" Katara restarted, her tone bearing whole new sense of hatred,"You had everything a teenage girl could ever dream of, and more. You father adored you, your country praised you; you were the Fire Nation ideal, and you didn't have to do a thing to earn it. But that just wasn't enough for you, was it? You had to take shot at the Avatar, you had to sap every single drop hope and inject continent's worth of fear and misery into everysingle heart, all for a throne that you weren't even meant to inherit!"

The princess reverted to her previous sleeping position, doing the best she could to ignore the waterbender.

"You could've shown some compassion and called off the hunt when you found out Aang was just a kid; oh, but that didn't stop the 'clever and beautiful princess', did it? And hey! while you were at it, you conquered Ba Sing flipping Se! - something not even a mile long drill could do! - and all it took was getting inside your brother's head and the willful and quite obviously premeditated MURDER of an innocent twelve year old boy! Sure, any decent human being might have had a slight displacment of morals after realizing they've just contributed to genocide, and maybe of even had the heart to tell said child where the Fire Lord is roughly forty-eight hours after witnessing the man's plans to-...waitamintute...why would what I'm about to say not sound right?" she snapped her fingers,"Oh yeah, that's right! Because what I was about to say was YOUR PLAN! You were the FIRST PERSON to opt for burning the Earth Kingdom to the ground! I guess that's why it only came natural or you to stall Aang during what seemed like to everyone at the time the world's last chance for peace. Yep, just doin' what you do best - manipulating and intimidating your way to another 'glorious victory' I mean, imprisoning and separating friends and families for potentially the rest of their lives does seem a bit rude, but surely that could never stand as any kind of confliction for a girl that gloated at her own mother's disappearance, who was entertained seeing her brother's face scarred for life, and then gloating some more when charged with the task of arresting him in the name of dignity; who incarcerated her best friends the moment they speak their mind! And there was also that thing about trying to outright kill Zuko a little while afterwards; what was it you said? 'Today's the day I become an only child '? Did I forget to mention the Earth King is still missing? But I guess you knew that already; I mean, what doesn't the intuitive Azula know?" Katara shook her head."You know, the punch-line with you is that, I could let all this stuff go; you're not the first cold-blooded monster I've had the pleasure of meeting...but the thing that separates you from any possibility of redemption, is that even with full comprehension of the things you've done, what you've promoted, the lives ruined in your wake, the destruction and blood-shed prolonged sovereignty by you own decisions; after all of these things," she paused,"...you look back at it all, and you don't even care. You just. Don't. CARE-!"

"OF COURSE I DON'T CARE!" the firebender shrieked out of nowhere,"For Agni's sake, it's WAR! There's no good guy or bad guy in war! There is only fight, win, lose, conquer! Pillage! Victory! Failure! Nobody cares in war! You just float around in this little fantasy zone full of courageous heroes and vile villains where hurting people is mean and 'stupid' is just another name for 'different'. GET REAL!" she cried exasperatedly, returning to a lying position with her arms crossed, facing the ceiling."I'd expect no less. Before you even met my brother, your whole life revolved around love and family and the community, completely isolated from the real world..." she turned to Katara,"I bet you think that your pitifull standards of relationships can be applied to the Fire Nation? That, if anyone ever found what really happened to Lady Ursa, they'd look upon my family with comtempt? Puh-lease! She would've been worshiped for her ingenuity! The fact that she got away with it all alone should have made her the greatest heroine in my nation's history! And do know why? Because morality in the Fire Nation is over-rated as of one hundred years ago! All that matters is score, reputation; who to fear, and what to overcome regardless of how despicable the method seems!" she smirked, her gaze returning to the ceiling,"Oh, believe me: if there were a Fire Nation ideal, it would undoubtedly be yours truly! Never in my life have I been more certain that there was not one single individual on earth that has shown me any sort of genuine affection. 'Wait, what about your father' you ask? Do you think if I weren't as good a bender as I am, he would even waste his time with me? I wasn't his favorite child, I was his favorite general! It actually came off as a surprise to me whenever we spoke any out of either the war room or the throne room; even when he asked me personally to apprehend Zuko, he treated the meeting strictly as if I wasn't even related to him!"

She spread her arms again,"And as for Zuzu, as soon as I was born, he centered his life around trying to one-up me in everything; he never succeeded though, but it was still awfully flattering. But what about Uncle Iroh? Why, everybody just adores Uncle Iroh! Funny how that decadent, tea-loving fathead never once visited me in my cell! And I don't even wanna start with Lu Ten, that bigheaded showboder! He got whatever came to him!" she giggled rather awkwardly."And would you believe, for a while, I honestly thought it was illegal for me to talk to Grandfather Azulon? No fooling! If you thought there was a double standard in my family, you should've heard the things he'd say to Father! Hah hah, talked to'em like he was trash..." she trailed off, her tone more quiet and far less crass,"...And I guess that leaves us with my So-called 'friends'," she continued with drastic change in her usual voice pattern,"Of cousre, they have every right to despise me. Not even I know why I recruted them, it's not like Ty Lee's the only chi blocker in existence; probably for to gnaw at Zuko's moral in some sadistic fashion...and then Mai..." she hissed, getting worked up again,"How could she turn on me like that! She had everything! But no, she couldn't let go of Zuko; even after he turned his back on the entire nation, She just would not shut up about ZUKO!" she screamed, swinging her hands in a way that made small but dangerous arcs of blue flame illuminate the room and cause Katara to stumble backwards.

When the Water Tribe girl arose, she nearly gawked at the sight of the former princess curled underneath the blanket, her body trembling.

"...my...my mother..." she quaked,"...sh...she never even said 'good-bye' to me...how is that suppose to make me feel? She said 'good-bye' to my brother but not me! Here I am, an intelligent, capable little girl, and I'm not even worth a 'goodbye'? Well why! I want to know! What was it about that sappy, birdbrained weakling that him elligable for some stinkin' notifacation!" she caved, finally bursting into tears.

If Katara thought she couldn't believe her eyes before...

Azula was on her back once more,"So there's the big secret: no one loved me, no one even liked me; from the day I was born and on! " she sobbed,"...But you know what?" she inquired,"None of that matters anymore. We lost; you won. I was outsmarted, and bested at the pinnacle of my power, by you no less. Our lives have fundamentally switched: now you're the beloved princess, and I'm the ragged peasant; only difference is that I am officialy the most hated female on Earth..." she lamented, her voice completely broken. She tried to stop crying anymore, but it was simply too late.

Katara's attitude was definitely softened; what she saw a minute ago as an embodiment of pure evil was now exactly what it looked like: a poor girl with no family. If her own rant hadnt' of been the spark that lit her reaction, she would've regretted saying it."...I think I know what was driving Aang to win the War..." she spoke up,"It wasn't just for his friends, all the helpless refugees, or even the Air Nomads...it was also people like you..." she looked at the floor,"The warriors, who were brought up from birth to only understand the principals of fighting and battling and mortal combat...," her memory flashed to Admiral Zhao, General Fong, Hama, the assassin know as "Combustion Man", and eventually Phoenix King Ozai,"...the kind of people that only desired victory and didn't care how it was achieved, or the damage that followed; there were people like that on either side of the War, and still are." Katara paced back to her enemy."It had to end, the world needed to change, the balance had to be restored so that, everyone could learn the true meaning of harmony...and, maybe one day...pretty much anybody can be pretty much anybody's friend..." she recited slowly, now standing before the sorrowful girl.

At this last statement, the firebender lamely propped herself against her left arm, though not fully turned to the standing girl."...Wait...are you actually telling me that...after all the madness I put you through..." she sniffled, facing her directly,"...you want to be my friend?"

"Well, I can tell you this much: I once stared my mother's killer square in the eye, and then forgave him. If I could forgive that..." the smiling waterbender replied, taking Azula's right hand,"...I can forgive anybody."

Azula's expression presented that of utter shock and almost reverence; she was so overcome by the outpouring of raw emotion that the very next thing she did was lunge off the bed and wrap her arms around the stunned Katara, holding her as if she never wanted to let go and crying a storm.

All the waterbender could do next was counter-hug the firebender and pat her on the back."It's alright now; you don't have to fight for anything anymore..." she comforted.

In the middle of such a touching moment, a certain blind girl grumbled back to consciousness."...erm, hey, Why'd you guys stop fighting?How am I 'spose to sleep with all this closer..." Toph froze the moment she leaned her right hand against the wall."...s...Sokka?"

"What?" Katara inquired.

The answer Katara got was Toph leaping out of the bed, darting to the other end of the room, and knocking hard on the wall left of the door with her fist."SOKKA! SOKKA! WE'RE IN HERE! SOKKA!" she cried.

"Toph, what're you talking about? Sokka can't possibly be here..." the waterbender reminded, still hugging Azula.

The firebender sighed, still hugging Katara."I knew it, the insanity's setting in; naturaly I was the first, and you'll be the last, you of course having the strongest will..."

"SOKKA! SOKKA! SOK-" the blind girl was cut off by a mysterious force blasting the door past her and into her bed, destroying it."...ka?

The girls turned to face an ominous shadow peering into the room, which grew in length as the sound of heavy boots could be heard entering through the door way.

The next thing the three saw was an alien figure, clad in a bulky orange and white jumpsuit and all kinds of bizarre equipment strapped around its torso. It wielded in its hands a long, black device, which was smoking on one end. On a side note, it also emitted an eerie synthetic breathing pattern that sounded like something out of an old but popular science fiction movie.

They silently scanned eachother...

The figure then put down its weapon and remove its helmet, revealing the usual indifferent expression of Sokka."Did I miss something?"

"SOKKA!" the earth and waterbenders cried, pouncing onto the teen and hugging him with all their might.

"whoah-Hey, one at a time!" he half-complained.

Azula gazed upon the laughing trio, and for the first time in her life she felt an even greater sensation even more so than love. Is this what hope feels like?

"I can't believe it! How did you even get up here? Is Aang here too?" the elated Katara asked.

"He is; but look, there's no time! We gotta get out of here before Eggman wises up!" the warrior reminded, pushing her aside and picking up his weapon."Now come on; we need to find Aang and save the universe!" he announced.

Toph paused again, raising a finger."Uh, yeah, that sound like good plan, but...how do we do that?"

Sokka raised is own finger to elaborate...but found that he could not, and brought said finger to his chin in contemplation.

Right now, the four were at a loss for words...

* * *

The iron door burst off his hinges as Sonic screeched to a halt."SONIC HEROES ROLL-CALL!"

 _"SONIC!"_ five familiar voices explained.

On the at end of the dark damp chamber hung Miles "Tails" Prower, Amy Rose, and Silver The Hedgehog; also Mayor Morishita, whom Sonic only noticed a couple seconds later.

"When someone says 'roll-call' you're supposed to say your own names, remember?" Sonic joked as he dashed to his friends."Man, I know it was just a week, but it felt like forever since I saw you guys!"

"OHMYGOD Sonic! I knew you'd find me! You really do care about me!" Amy beamed.

Tails stared blankly at the pink hedgehog."Yes, Amy, Sonic cares for you and only you...I can't _possibly_ think of anyone else he'd go out his way to rescue..."

"I know, where're you going with this?" Amy genuinely asked.

"Honestly?" Sonic said."I technically only came here to save that guy..." he point to the mayor.

"tthhennn...hhhoww'cum wweee'rrre hhhere...?" Silver mumbled dizzily.

"What's up with you, bro?" Sonic asked.

"They heavily sedated Silver so he couldn't use his psychic powers," Tails explained.

"Which is really weird, because all they did was make him drink cactus water..." Amy noted.

"I...I'm...ssssome people c-confffussse me for a lynx but...I-I'm like...'dude...du...imma hedgehug'..." The dazed Silver drooled.

"I dunno what his problem is..."

Sonic turned to his right to see Big The Cat, held down by reasonably enormous chains.

"Those guys with the funny hats gave me even more than Silver, and I feel fine," Big said.

The blue hedgehog shook his head."No drug in the multiverse could make you slower, Big..." He turned back to his actual friends."How'd these jerks capture you in the first place? I mean, robots I get, but people with rocks and spears?"

"You know they can move rocks with minds right?" Tails retorted.

"I ccan throw rocks wi' ma mind!" Silver gurgled.

"And besides, it wasn't just them," Tail began,"who really got us was this lady riding this giant wolf-mole monster thing; it was really fast and could cause instant paralysis with it's tongue. And we're still paralyzed!"

"If you're all paralyzed, then how can you still talk?" Sonic inquired.

"If I could move my shoulders, I'd be shrugging right now," Was the fox's only answer.

"What was that thing called again?" Amy wondered."Was it a 'shushu'?"

"I think it was called a 'shrieshu..." Tails contemplated.

"Shshhshhhhusausagessss..." Silver sighed before falling asleep.

 ** _*thwip!*_**

In an instant, Sonic's body felt totally numb, and he hit the dirt unceremoniously.

"NO!" Tails gasped.

"she's called..." a menacing female voice began,"...a _shirshu_..."

Sonic could barely turned head up to see a woman with long dark hair and black clothes methodically pace towards him.

"What a total letdown..." June lamented,"They told me you were fast; but then again, so were your friends, and so is Nala..." she smirked as she gently stroked the long snout of the huge snarling beast to her left. June then took out her whip and crackled it, prompting her animal to shoot out its long prehensile tongue and strike the prisoners once again; despite the numbness, they yelped at the sting."Have to keep them lubed every hour or so, otherwise the toxin where's off...and as for you..." June knelt down in front of the growling Sonic's face."My client would like a word with you, Blue Spirit."

Without a word, She snatched Sonic by his ankles, and dragged him away from his desperately shout friends, the shirshu following. The now helpless Sonic could hear their voices calling his name, the sound fading into echoes in the darkness.


End file.
